A DISPUTE over where affordable homes should be built in a Test Valley village is going to the ballot box.

A group called Affordable Housing for Broughton attempted to bring down the parish council in October claiming the authority wasn’t representing villagers’ views on proposed housing for the community after councillors agreed to look into a scheme to build 28 homes, including 11 in the rented sector, at Hinwood Field off School Lane.

The Affordable group was angry that the council decided not to proceed with a site next to the cemetery which had received the most support in a village survey on five potential sites.

Four out of ten parish councillors quit in the row which split the village and led to ill-feeling.

Affordable Housing for Broughton believes the proposed development should be built next to the village cemetery but a large number of villagers are standing by the parish council’s decision to earmark the Hinwood Field site for new homes.

Mary Ridley and Sue Beckley got up a petition supporting the Parish Council’s stance on the Hinwood Field proposals and collected 211 signatures in five days.

The petition was presented to the authority at its November 4 meeting.

Mrs Ridley is one of 10 candidates in next month’s parish council by-election contesting four seats left vacant by the resignations of Tim Jenner, Nigel Otley, Peter Broome and Sarah Hendy.

“People right across the social spectrum are supporting the parish council,” said Mrs Ridley.

“We are trying to get more names to add to the 211 on the petition. We were amazed at the amount we collected in five days and we didn’t canvass everyone in the village. There is a high need for affordable housing in the village and we’ve got to have a housing approach for all ages.

Village postmaster and shop owner Bob Gillespie, whose wife Judith is a parish councillor, said that only two of the councillors resigned in protest at the council’s decision.

“The other two resigned for different reasons, one as a direct result of what he felt was ‘unacceptable behaviour by a tiny minority of very vocal parishioners’ and the other left because circumstances left him in an impossible position to have further involvement in council business,” he said.

Mr Gillespie said the parish council has the support of the majority of villagers who are in favour of building on the Hinwood Field site.

He says that land next to the cemetery wasn’t suitable.

“It is far too small for the number of affordable homes needed let alone any other housing and facilities. This means the group are either proposing to restrict the number of houses built or use neighbouring allotment and recreational land.”

He added: “The issue of house building is always going to be an emotive one. In the debate on whether to stand still or allow the village to grow, the villagers of Broughton deserve to be presented with a balanced picture and not a distorted view from one group of parishioners.” A survey conducted by Broughton Parish Council this summer revealed that 56 per cent of the 402 villagers who responded wanted to see a mixture of affordable and open market homes built in the community.

Mr Gillespie concluded: “People are always coming into the shop saying that they’d love to move back into the village but can’t because there are no affordable homes for them. They should have the opportunity to come back if they want to. A lot of villagers are saying just get on with it.”

Candidates in the December 11 Broughton Parish Council by-election include Mary Ridley, Test Valley Borough Councillor Peter Boulton, John Dumper, Nigel Penwill, Jeremy Booker, Ali Brockman, Alan Taylor, David Dunning, Jeremy Quitman and Stephen Pay who is chairman of Affordable Housing for Broughton.