Eastleigh councillors have called for the brakes to be slammed on plans to create more than 80 car parking spaces at the town's Fleming Park Leisure Centre.

With the complex attracting more than one million visitors a year there is growing pressure on current parking.

Eastleigh Local Area Committee was asked to consider a plan to relocate the existing artificial turf pitch, provide three new five-a-side artificial pitches and extend the car park to create 88 extra spaces.

But it was the plans to extend parking which made some councillors fume.

The move has come under fire from Eastleigh council's head of engineering Duncan McVey who said he was sympathetic to the need to provide additional facilities.

But he said: "Professionally I find the justification for the additional car parking extremely weak."

He said that a car park management scheme, as part of a green travel plan could help to ease the parking problem.

Concern has also been expressed by the county surveyor and from nearby residents, who protested about increased traffic and disturbance from floodlighting.

Speaking at the local area committee, Councillor Peter Luffman said: "It seems to me that Fleming Park has become more and more cluttered with cars."

Councillor Gillian Connell feared that by creating more parking they would be trampling on the environment. She said: "I cannot see any justification for these 88 car parking spaces."

Councillor Marilyn Birks said: "We should not be losing important green and potential leisure space to provide more car parking."

But the mayor Councillor Glynn Davies-Dear spoke of the overspill parking problems in roads around Fleming Park. He said: "Do not rule out the fact that we need some extra car parking spaces.

"Then we might have just a fighting chance to get some traffic movement around the Derby Road estate."

Councillors agreed that a decision on the Fleming Park proposals should be made by the head of development control after various consultations.