THE New Forest could become a 'no-go area' for developers if they are landed with big money demands for the right to build.

That was the warning which faced the district council's Cabinet when it looked at boosting funding for new affordable homes by pulling even more developers into the payment zone.

At present, developers building 15 new homes or more have to provide land for a third of the number of properties at half-price so social housing can be built by a housing association.

For small developments, where cut-price land cannot be made available, other forms of property or cash can be handed over to help pay for public sector affordable dwellings.

It is all aimed at cutting the big shortage of social housing and trimming back the waiting list.

One of the most recent examples of major development contribution has been on the big Britannia Gate development at Hythe.

District head of development control Chris Elliott said: "In terms of rough figures, the development amounted to a total of about 250 properties and about 80 of those are affordable. That is the sort of proportion we are looking at.

"Other major developments recently where land has been made available at half-price for this proportion of affordable homes have been at Hangar Farm and Hazel Farm at Totton."

But the district council's Cabinet has now agreed to recommend that the qualifying mark should be slashed from 15 to just five new homes and to increase the percentage payback requirement from 30 to 35 per cent, despite warnings that it might backfire.

It would still have to go before a public inquiry into the local plan. But when the Cabinet discussed bringing in all developments of more than two homes, Ringwood councillor Jeremy Heron said: "If we made every developer pay 35 per cent of whatever he wants to build, it would make the New Forest a 'no-go area' for development."

There were also fears it would push developers away from building small numbers of smart houses in areas where they were appropriate and going for high-density developments of flats in order to increase profit margins.

Planning portfolio holder Tom Russell warned: "We will get places like Lymington which will be filled up by three-storey blocks of ten flats, which is something I don't think the people of Lymington want and I don't think will help the street scene.

"The net effect is that you will get nothing at all. The developers will go to Salisbury or to Dorset."