A development of 300 homes at Hoe Lane and Sylvan Drive in North Baddesley has been given the final approval by Test Valley Borough Council.

The council’s Southern Area Planning Committee have unanimously approved the Reserved Matters Planning Application submitted by Ashfield Partnership which means construction may begin early next year but no exact date has been given.

As well as a few hundred homes, workspace, allotment gardens and a children’s play area are in the designs.

This final approval phase marks the completion of a planning journey dating back almost five years, after controversy and objections from residents and councillors, mainly because of an expected increased flow of traffic and access issues along the single track lane.

The development was first established when the borough's local plan was approved by a government inspector in 2016. North Baddesley councillors managed to reduce the number of houses on the proposed site at Hoe Lane from 500 down to 300 when residents and councillors pre-empted the traffic related issues which forced the developers to agree to implement more passing places along Hoe Lane and reduce the roads speed limit from 60mph to 30.

Cllr, Celia Dowden, member of the planning committee said: “There has been a lot of thought that has gone into this, and I think people will be happily surprised when they see what will be developed there, because it is a lovely site.”

Cllr Alan Dowden added: "We are very pleased with the outcome, and we wanted to have a development that everybody could be proud of in the end, and I think we have achieved that. I am sure in the long-term people will be pleased with it."

Doug Cramond, planning consultant for DC Planning Ltd said: “It is difficult to satisfy the increasing requirements of Natural England when it comes to new housing in the Southern Hampshire.

“The Partnership is therefore delighted that an innovative set of measures, underlining its commitment to the environment, has found favour. The design team can now move on with its exciting plans for a high-quality new neighbourhood for North Baddesley. This will include provision of recreational facilities benefitting existing residents and those in the planned new market and affordable homes”.