Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council refuses plans to build 36 homes on greenfield land in Ashford Hill
Many Ashford Hill residents will be rejoicing after plans to build 36 homes on greenfield land at the southern edge of the village were refused.
Berkshire developer JPP Land submitted plans to build 45 homes on the land south of Holt Cottages in August 2021, but the development was reduced to 36 dwellings in September 2022.
However, these plans were refused by Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council on December 14.
A group of around 50 concerned villagers protested the plans in November 2021, with many residents holding placards emblazoned with phrases such as 'Keep Ashford Hill Rural', 'No to Houses Here' and 'Wrong Houses, Wrong Place'.
Ashford Hill resident and Basingstoke and Deane borough councillor Ken Rhatigan (Con, Tadley North, Kingsclere and Baughurst) said: “I’m honestly delighted that the plans were refused.
“Until the infrastructure is in, it is good for a small community to be able to hold off speculative developers.”
The councillor acknowledged housing contributions that the village had already made to the borough in recent years.
He said: “It has already had Oakfield and it’s got another 27 houses coming opposite the school. Ashford Hill is doing its fair share to carry some of the burden.”
Mr Rhatigan also noted that the refusal was in line with the recently established Ashford Hill with Headley Neighbourhood Plan, as the site was out of Ashford Hill’s settlement boundary.
Ashford Hill with Headley Parish Council chairman Joe Woodford stated that he was glad the plans were refused because the site intended for development is an active piece of agricultural land. A farmer harvests chamomile from the field every year.
Mr Woodford said: “Being chamomile, it does incredibly well with all of our local pollinators in and around the area. The loss of that field would have been pretty dramatic for indigenous insects.
“Even if you forget about the bugs and insects, it's employment for a local farm.”
He was also pleased with Basingstoke and Deane’s reasons for refusal, which included that the development wasn’t in keeping with the area, and the lack of benefits for residents.
“It’s a disproportionate development in such a small area,” he said. “It’s not that the parish is anti-development; it’s quite the contrary. Just in the right place and at the right size.
“If you want large-scale developments of this nature, put it next to an area where the population has all these amenities.
“The outskirts of Tadley or the outskirts of Basingstoke can afford to take that kind of development. Our village and other small villages can’t.”