ALLBROOK residents look set to sound another "hands off our greenfields" message to developers in the latest round of a planning battle against major development.

A village revolt against controversial proposals which would have changed the face of Allbrook forced Forelle Estates Ltd to withdraw an outline planning application in March last year.

Edmund Nuttall Ltd and the Poole-based Forelle Estates were hoping to redevelop the Nuttall Plant Hire depot and the site of the former Victoria Inn with 24 flats, a community store plus an office block.

A further 66 houses were proposed on a greenfield site behind the historic Allbrook Farmhouse - a Grade II listed building, once the 17th century home of Britain' first professional woman portrait artist Mary Beale - which would have been restored as a single dwelling.

But in the face of massive opposition, Forelle decided to go back to the drawing board and last night hosted a meeting for villagers in a bid to get feedback on what would be acceptable to locals and what community facilities - if any - they would like to see included.

Forelle managing director Michael Price told villagers the company hoped to make a detailed planning application within the next three months.

He explained that the site of the Victoria Inn and the farmhouse was accepted as brownfield land which could be developed, together with a small parcel of land behind the farmhouse which had been included in a previous planning approval for a new family pub.

But he added: "We are saying there is an opportunity to develop a little further and bring into the equation something you may like for the village."

But he stressed it was a trade-off situation for more housing development if villagers decided they wanted something like a community hall or a shop.

"If you have a shopping list we need to see the development boundary pushed further north because we have to release the land to pay for it."

And he added: "I don't have a proposals plan to put to you because we don't want to do that until we have a feedback from the people of Allbrook. Hopefully, that will result in a plan that is acceptable."

But after Mr Price and his planning consultant Martin Hawthorne had left the meeting, chairman of the Boyatt and Allbrook Residents' Group (BARG) Steve Scholey told villagers: "The more we ask for the more houses they are going to put there."

And a show of hands resulted in a clear majority of villagers who were in favour of keeping development to an absolute minimum - even if it meant they got nothing out of the building scheme.

BARG will now put together a working group to collate residents' views before officially replying to the developers.

The minimum development move is now likely to place a huge question mark over ambitious plans floated by Eastleigh council's arts unit to turn Allbrook Farmhouse into a Mary Beale museum.

Mr Price told the Daily Echo he was not ruling it out but added: "We were expecting there to be a lot of support for the museum, but it was all a bit cold from the residents and there is a substantial cost."