THE development of land in Bishop’s Waltham which has been the subject of a 25-year wrangle rumbles on.

The land adjacent to Pondside Lane will make way for 24 new homes, with space set aside for the parish to install two playgrounds and a recreation area.

But on the advice of Winchester planning officers, the parish council has extended its timetable for completion of the playground from one year to two.

Parish clerk Lindsay Edge told a meeting on Tuesday: “The developer has to have the land fit for us to put the playground in and we have to then install it.

“A year can go by very quickly so the open spaces officer at Winchester suggested we change the timescale. The last I heard they were looking at spring before the land would be ready.”

The council had wanted to secure the whole site for recreational use, but was only able to secure a compulsory purchase order for a small fraction of the land. It then transpired in 2003 that they could not afford the asking price.

It was finally settled and permission to develop the new houses was granted, with the parish satisfied that the developer’s plans met residents’ needs.

The Chronicle reported in September last year that the wrangle was settled in under an hour at a meeting of Winchester city planning chiefs.

In the 1980s the City Council fought development on the site, but the need for affordable homes and support from residents changed over the years.