A FRESH bid to build 5,000 new homes in the heart of the countryside at Michel-dever Station near Winchester has been overwhelmingly rejected.

But contentious plans for 2,000 houses on a prime greenfield site at Barton Farm, north of the city, have been proposed by Hampshire County Council.

Before any final decisions are taken local people will be given the opportunity to express their views during a consultation exercise over the next six weeks.

The idea of putting Micheldever Station development back on the drawing board was put forward by Tory county councillor Bill Blackett.

His proposal was sparked by a heated debate at a meeting of the planning and transportation committee on the distribution of an additional 14,000 homes in the draft county structure plan.

Following bitter negotiations, the county council and Southampton and Ports-mouth city councils have agreed that a baseline figure of 42,000 homes should be built in Hampshire up to 2011, with a further 14,000 in reserve if they are needed.

Mr Blackett said it was foolish to destroy small greenfield sites in many urban areas across the county, when 5,000 homes could be built at Micheldever Station.

He also suggested an additional 1,470 homes be earmarked for Southampton and the remaining 7,530 homes be shared by areas across the county.

But committee chairman Dudley Keep, who has spent many years campaigning against the development of major greenfield areas, made it clear that Micheldever Station was a no-go area for housing.

"Micheldever Station does not go back into the pot and under no circumstances will it ever be considered," he retorted.

Although Mr Blackett argued that it was "irresponsible" of a planning chairman to make such a pledge, particularly as Hampshire had now been threatened with 169,000 new homes by 2016, the committee agreed that Micheldever Station should not be included in the structure plan.

Liberal Democrat leader Adrian Collett said a new town at Micheldever Station would create an urban sprawl stretching from Basingstoke to Winchester.

"The proposal is fatally flawed and we would become a dumping ground for other parts of the region," he added.

Meanwhile local conservation groups have vowed to fight the Barton Farm proposals, on the grounds that local people are strongly opposed to the development.

Chairman of the city council's planning committee Rodney Sabine said 2,000 new homes would constitute a major development and the council would oppose it.

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