SOCIAL housing arranged like a “ghetto” and parking are issues town councillors have taken with a 91-home development.

Andover Town Council’s planning committee met on Monday, 11 September to discuss a planning application to build 91 homes on an area of land on Picket Piece.

Foreman Homes plans to build housing on grazing land opposite Walworth Road, complete with a village green and a community orchard, however the suggested layout caused concerns among committee members.

The 36 social houses proposed were a hot topic, with a large cluster of them being put together by the railway line.

Cllr Luigi Gregori said the homes were deliberately designed to be cheap,while Cllr Veronica Pondsaid the social housing layout was a ‘ghetto’.

Cllr Barbara Carpenter said: “What a stupid place to put them.”

This also raised questions over the sufficiency of a noise buffer between the railway line and the houses themselves.

It was the first discussion on the plans submitted by Foreman Homes on August 21, with town councillors voicing strong opinions on the proposal as they compared it to a previously refused application to build 22 homes in the same area.

Councillor Gregori added: “It is quite confusing and it is not well planned out, some issues that the other application had can be seen here, I think they have just taken the same kind of template and carried it on.

“In the transport section of the plan, parking is wrong with only six spaces for visitors.

"That is quite a significant shortfall.”

Cllr Barbara Long feared this would force cars to park on the road, causing a highway issue.

The managing director of nearby business Arts Space Interior Designs, Kate Letteriello, also attended the meeting to highlight concerns she had over her workspace’s right of access from the main road.

Ms Letteriello explained to council how Foreman Homes had approached her business about buying a road to the east of the development which Arts Space currently uses for access to its business and while contracts have been drawn up, she has not yet proceeded.

She said: “We are proposing to double the size of our company so money from the development will help with that but I’m confused with where we would stand with right of access to the road.”

Test Valley Borough Council (TVBC) councillor John Cockaday attended the planning meeting and said: “Looking at the plans for the moment I’m concerned about the traffic coming out onto Walworth Road.”

TVBC’s Northern Area Planning Committee has yet to set a date to discuss the plan.

For more information and to comment on the plan, go to testvalley.gov.uk/planning-andbuilding/viewplanningapplicationsonline and search using the reference number 17/02181/ FULLN.