A SENIOR Basingstoke councillor has been forced to resign his £15,000-a-year post on Hampshire County Council's Cabinet because of his opposition to plans to build thousands of houses on the controversial Manydown site.

Cllr Phil Heath has stepped down as chief whip and a Cabinet member in the Conservative-led administration.

Cllr Heath, who represents Basingstoke South, said: "I offered my resignation but if I hadn't done so, I probably would have been asked for it. The only option was to change my position on Manydown and on a point of principle that was never possible."

Cllr Heath said the Cabinet system means all its members must agree on the same policy and since the county council supports a major development area (MDA) on Manydown, west of Basingstoke, he had to step down.

County council leader Ken Thornber said he asked to meet with Cllr Heath after reading an interview with him in The Basingstoke Extra's sister paper, The Gazette, in which he stated that Basingstoke Tories would drop the Manydown plan if they win control of Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council.

Cllr Thornber said: "I took the view that, with such a high profile interview, continued membership of the Cabinet was not possible.

It was not a carpeting in any sense and was amicable with both of us regretting that we have different views."

Cllr Thornber said such conflicts of interest would always arise when councillors served on both district and county councils.

Cllr Heath said: "When I joined the Cabinet, my position was very clearly stated, but the Cabinet had not established its view and the policy was to let Basingstoke sort out the Local Plan. Since then, the county has reiterated support for the MDA."

He added: "I'm free at Hampshire County Council now to pursue the position that, in purely planning grounds, this is not the best option."

Cllr Heath still believes that the housing required by central government can be spread around the town and borough without an MDA.

He admitted that losing his £15,000 allowance as chief whip would be a blow financially and he would have to "re-structure" his work as an insurance broker. However, he added: "Principles cannot have money attached to them."

Stephen Reid, from the Save Manydown group, which is fighting the MDA, said he was outraged that Cllr Heath had to resign.

He said: "The county are saying: 'You vote for Manydown or else!' This is wrong on principle."