RESIDENTS and council leaders in Colden Common have backed plans to fight thousands of new homes.

Nearly 200 people gathered at Colden Common Community Centre to hear about the ongoing campaign by Action against Destructive Development (ADD).

The group is battling plans by Eastleigh Borough Council build thousands of homes between Bishopstoke, Fair Oak, Upham, Colden Common and Allbrook to meet government targets.

The homes could be served by a major road which campaigners fear will “merge” the villages.

Residents in the village gave strong backing to ADD and its campaign to ensure that the borough’s housing needs are met in a way that protects the countryside and communities.

Kate Beal of ADD said their campaign had the support of a wide range of organisations and individuals.

She read a message from Winchester MP Steve Brine, thanking the action group for its work and pledging his continued help.

John Lauwerys said told the gathering there were better ways open to the council than two of the options of the Eastleigh plan, which would mean building more than 6,000 houses in Bishopstoke and Fair Oak.

The council is asking for residents views on various options of where the homes will be built in the Eastleigh area.

Campaigners believe two of the options which involve homes built near Allington Lane would make “better planning sense” as they say there are better transport links and less environmental destruction.

They are calling for the council to scrap the options on the table which involve building homes to the north of Bishopstoke and Fair Oak.

They say they would include building a major road through part of Colden Common which they claim would permanently change the character of the village.

Mr Baylis argued the scheme was developer-led, and it contradicted Eastleigh Council’s objectives of protecting the countryside, promoting biodiversity preserving the identities of individual communities and tackling climate change.

The new road, he said, was likely to increase rather than relieve congestion, and make it more likely that Colden Common would eventually become a suburb.

Campaigners from ADD want Eastleigh Borough Council to get the Chickenhall Lane link road built, which will connect Chickenhall Lane with roads linking to the M27, currently there is a petition backed by more than 1000 people calling for this.