MORE traffic congestion, more pupils chasing school places and more demand for doctors and dentists.

That's the prospect for Sarisbury Green residents who attended a public meeting about plans for 251 new homes on the Coldeast Hospital site.

Five years after the government overturned Fareham Council's decision to refuse so many houses the landowner, Inventures, has finally submitted its detailed planning application.

With outline planning permission already granted, residents and councillors know they can't turn back the clock.

Fareham Council leader Sean Woodward said, however, that he hoped to make the developer pay for as many community facilities on the site as possible.

These could include a community hall, skatepark and playground.

Some of the 100 residents at the Sarisbury Green Parish Rooms also raised concerns about traffic gridlock and inadequate access to the new estate from Coldeast Way into Brook Lane and Bridge Road.

Other residents expressed fears about more families moving into the area and putting a greater strain on local schools.

Sarisbury Green resident Judy Wiseman told the meeting that seven children had missed out on places at St Anthony's RC Primary School in Titchfield Common because it is already oversubscribed.

The firm behind the scheme, Inventures, has pledged to incorporate locally-listed buildings into the overall development.

English Nature has also just completed a wildlife survey.

Head of planning Alan Wells urged residents who had information about deer and badgers in the area to contact the civic offices.

The application will be discussed at Fareham Council's next planning meeting on February 4.

If councillors approve the scheme developers will be able to start buying up the site.

"At the moment we are laying down the masterplan for the site and trying to get the best deal for residents," said Cllr Woodward.

"The detail of it could change when a developer or a number of developers want to put their own mark on it."