CONTROVERSIAL plans to build a £2m "barrack block" in Totton town centre have been thrown out.

McCarthy & Stone (Developments) Ltd has been refused permission to construct 50 flats and two shops on a derelict site between Ringwood Road and Water Lane.

New Forest District Council has rejected the application on the grounds that it contravened planning policies.

The news has delighted members of Totton Town Council, some of whom claimed that the proposed development resembled a Victorian warehouse or barrack block.

Plans to build the three and four-storey block of flats were unveiled in April.

McCarthy & Stone said the scheme would transform a derelict and rubbish-strewn site, part of which is occupied by three boarded-up bungalows.

However, the scheme ran into opposition from traders and town councillors.

Members of the town council's planning and transport advisory committee cited a long list of concerns, including the provision of only 12 parking spaces.

They also hit out at the size and bulk of the building.

Councillor Dave Hibbert said: "I went round to local businesses that would be affected and they all felt the building was far too high.

"They felt it would create a tunnel effect, cutting out a lot of light."

Fellow councillor George Dart claimed the massive scheme would overshadow the area and would have a "horrendous" impact on some of the nearby businesses.

Steve Shepherd, a former chairman of Totton Chamber of Trade, called for more shops on the site.

A district council spokesman said the proposal had been turned down because it lacked affordable housing, was unduly imposing and included too much non-commercial development.

He added that the building would dominate neighbouring homes, resulting in loss of privacy and other problems.

Roger Hill, the town council's planning officer, said McCarthy & Stone was expected to lodge an appeal against refusal of permission for the scheme.