ROMSEY’S MP has taken the fight to stop controversial plans to build around 80,000 more new homes across south Hampshire to Downing Street.

Launching a petition on Gordon Brown’s No 10 website, Sandra Gidley called on the PM to suspend the south-east England regional housing plans, which includes Hampshire’s allocation of proposed new homes.

The move comes just weeks after Mrs Gidley challenged Mr Brown in the Commons over proposals to build 1,600 new homes on prime agricultural land at Whitenap and the MP has also written to him asking him to review local development plans.

Speaking shortly after setting up the petition on Wednesday, Mrs Gidley said: “It’s just crazy that something like planning, which has a huge impact on local people’s lives, is decided by unelected regional quangos.

“If we had control over our own planning needs, we would know that we don’t need to concrete over our greenfields when so many brownfield sites are standing idle.”

Mrs Gidley added: “That’s why I hope local people will join me on calling on the PM to suspend the regional spatial strategy process and empower communities and councils to set their own targets based on local, sustainable housing needs assessment. I urge everyone to sign the petition today and say no to this senseless environmental vandalism.”

But Hampshire’s deputy leader Roy Perry, claims Mrs Gidley move is “both cynical and hypocritical” and that she’s left it too late in the day to prevent the housing plans going ahead.

Mr Perry said a Conservative government would scrap the South East Plan and leave it to local authorities to make decisions on housing allocations.

“I am pleased at long last that Mrs Gidley has realised the enormous development pressure this wretched government is putting on Hampshire in general and Test Valley in particular.

“Mrs Gidley has consistently blamed development proposals for Romsey on Test Valley Borough Council without remotely acknowledging the pressures imposed by the South East Plan.

“This plan imposes 133,000 dwellings on Hampshire between now and 2026, including 80,000 in south Hampshire and 3,920 of them in and around Romsey.

“This is why TVBC had to approve development at Abbotswood (800 new homes) and I note that, despite Lib Dems claims of opposition to Abbotswood in their literature, only three of their 11 councillors on TVBC’s southern area planning committee voted against Abbotswood, presumably because they recognised if development did not go there, it would go elsewhere in the Romsey area.

“Conservatives have been stressing all along their concern with this pressure coming from the Government, whilst Mrs Gidley up to now has ignored it – even pressing for more development.” Anyone who wants to add their name to Mrs Gidley’s petition, which is open until August 19, should log onto http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/rsspetition for details.