CONTROVERSIAL plans for a new motocross track in an area of outstanding natural beauty close to the site of the Homelands Dance festival site near Winchester will be decided tonight.

The plans have drawn strong opposition from those living near the proposed site, at the Matterley Bowl to the east of the city, who say that motorbikes racing around the countryside would blight their lives.

Local council leaders have also objected to the scheme, arguing that the motorcross track would be harmful to nature, would increase traffic, and should not be allowed on a designated area of outstanding natural beauty that is being considered for inclusion inside the South Downs National Park.

However, those promoting the track say that it would be used on only two weekends a year and that any changes to the environment made, such as earthworks, would be put back after the two events.

The track, if given the go-ahead, would host two motocross events: the British Grand Prix on June 17 and 18 and the Motocross of Nations on September 23 and 24.

Each event is expected to attract up to 25,000 fans, though the last one could see numbers reach 40,000 - the same as the Homelands event.

To get the track ready for racing, the organisers would need to build jumps and also provide a hard-standing area where the bikes could be hosed down and loaded on to trucks, and that's where the planning application to be decided by Winchester City Council later this week comes in.

Those objecting include the local parish council and as well as the South Downs Joint Committee and the Countryside Agency - all of whom say that the event would damage the environment, would ruin views of the area of outstanding natural beauty in which the site stands, and would affect wildlife.

Other complaints include the amount of traffic that would be generated by the races, the noise for local residents, overuse of the site for non-agricultural purposes, and that it is contrary to countryside policies.

However, organisers reject many of the complaints, arguing that the traffic management schemes already used for Homelands would also be used for the motocross, and that any landscaping changes they do would be put back afterwards.

Local tourism chiefs have also welcomed the proposals as a chance to bring in some visitors to Winchester, and as a chance to put the city more in the public eye.

The matter will be decided at a meeting of Winchester City Council's Planning and Development Control Panel at the Guildhall.