A MAJOR development of up to 765 homes with a new primary school, a six-hectare urban park, plus office and light industry could get off the launching pad tonight.

Eastleigh civic chiefs are being recommended to grant outline planning approval for a huge new community to spring up on nearly 28 hectares of greenfield land at Dowds Farm, Hedge End.

But if councillors on the borough's Hedge End, West End and Botley Local Area Committee signal the all-clear, the development - touted as being "essential" to Eastleigh meeting its housing targets - will still have two huge hurdles to negotiate.

Worried about the impact of the new development on the M27, the Highways Agency has currently put a stop on Eastleigh approving the application until highway concerns have been resolved.

The development plan from the Salvation Army will also land on the desk of Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott if councillors back it because the application is a departure from the adopted local plan.

Mr Prescott will then decide whether to "call in" the plan for his own determination. If he chooses to have the final say, the matter will have to go to a public inquiry.

In a report to the local area committee, Eastleigh's head of development control Colin Peters says: "The relatively high density of the development will make the best use of land while respecting the character of the surroundings.

"The development will make a major contribution to housing need and, in particular, affordable housing where there is a serious deficiency.

"The council has over 4,000 people on its housing register. The need is urgent and cannot await the adoption of the local plan, which could take at least another two years. Dowds Farm is an essential element in meeting the established targets."

Mr Peters adds: "It is expected that the development of this site will protect unidentified greenfield sites elsewhere within the borough from development during the local plan review period."

The committee will hear that Hampshire County Council's director of environment has called the application "premature" and that the borough council has also received 76 letters of objection from local residents.