CALLS for the provision of sheltered housing and a new health centre, plus environmental improvements for a parade of shops are set to be made by Hamble Parish Council.

The authority wants the village to be given special exemption from government planning guidelines to pack as many homes onto brownfield sites as possible. The topics will be among Hamble's responses to consultation over the Eastleigh Borough Local Plan review being carried out by the borough council.

But Eastleigh will be told the parish council welcomes a move to make the Crowsport Estate a special policy area.

For years the parish authority has been trying to get special protection for the estate which has been described as a fine example of Thirties Cubism and is believed to be extremely rare.

Future development is also high on the parish's agenda. Councillors agreed to tell Eastleigh they believed a development brief for the top of Ensign Way adjacent to Hamble Motors, which leaves the door open for four storey homes at 30 dwellings to the hectare, was a step too far.

Parish clerk Kate Cullen said: "The parish council will be challenging the density and the height of the buildings because we think it would be out of character with the rest of the village."

Meanwhile, Hamble will also be seeking environmental improvements for the siting of shops at Coronation Parade.