A LONG-RUNNING battle for a new church at New Milton looks set to end next week.

The Evangelical Free Church of New Milton put in its plans to build flats on the Whitefield Road site of its existing church almost two years ago and they were approved by New Forest council in September 2001.

But a proposal for a replacement church and car parking just across the road was rejected in February.

Now the church has come back with a double application which goes before the district planning committee next Wednesday and there are recommendations that it should be provisionally approved.

It is asking for permission for a new church on the site across the road and for the existing church to be demolished and replaced by 14 flats.

Both applications have sparked a hostile response from New Milton Town Council's planning committee.

It describes the new church as "overintensive" and adds that the flats amount to "overdevelopment and loss of a community building" and expresses concerns about access to the site and conflict with the parking of buses on the road.

However, an officers' report which will be considered by councillors points out that the church was turned down because it would be too big, would spoil the street scene and would have an adverse impact on a neighbouring property.

It adds that while the height of the proposed new church will stay the same, the width has been reduced by one metre which "enables a more comfortable relationship with neighbouring buildings which would result in an acceptable impact on the street scene."

Six letters of objection have been received, claiming the flats will be out of character, cause a loss of light and a safety hazard at a bus stop.