PLANS to tear down a former social club will go before government inspectors after it was refused by local planning chiefs.

Osborne Road Developments Ltd has taken its bid to partly demolish the Wykeham Club and change use of the land to build a medical surgery, pharmacy and eight three-bedroom homes to the Planning Inspectorate.

The club, accessible from both Western Road and Osborne Road, has been closed since April 2014.

The developers submitted the application in February 2018 but it was refused permission in May.

Following the lodging of the appeal, an Osborne Road Developments Ltd spokesman said: “We have tried everything, we have tried to accommodate councillors’ wishes but they seem determined for us not to have any sort of development on there.

“We have been negotiating with them [the council] and although they like our proposal of the doctor’s surgery they do not want as much residential which is what makes the development commercially viable for us.

“We are hopeful that the planning inspector will be an independent person who will look at this objectively. All that we are trying to do is along the guidelines and meet housing demand for the area.”

Several reasons were given by Test Valley Borough Council for refusing the application.

The authority said that the proposed houses would introduce a “dominant incongruous form of development into the streetscene”.

It said that the plan would also exacerbate the problem of parking as the area would be dominated by hard surfacing and parked cars, which would “fail to take the opportunities to improve the character and landscaping of the surrounding area.”

Planning chiefs added: “Overall the development would not integrate or respect the character of the area nor protect, conserve or enhance the landscape of the borough.”

Developers had originally submitted plans to build a block of 10 flats but this was refused in January this year.

Anyone who would like to have their say on the plan must contact the Planning Inspectorate by October 24, go to acp.planninginspectorate.gov.uk and search 3206246.