TEST Valley councillors have thrown out controversial plans to build a state-of-the-art care home near Stockbridge.

There was widespread opposition to Eurocare's scheme at Houghton Road on the southern outskirts of the town and at Tuesday's southern area planning committee meeting, members unanimously agreed the proposed development was in the "wrong" location and against the council's countryside policies.

Eurocare's ambitious and unpopular project included a 60-bed care home and a 32-bed high dependency unit with 24 staff apartments.

The applicant claimed there was a shortage of this type of development in the Stockbridge area.

Parish councils at Houghton and Longstock along with more than 40 residents in the surrounding area objected to the scheme.

Houghton Parish Council's clerk, Alan Young, told the meeting that the application was the "biggest the parish has had to deal with"

and it had attracted a lot of interest in the village.

Mr Young said four meetings were held to discuss the plans and, at one all-day event at Houghton, more than 50 people turned up.

"There was no support for the application at that time," said Mr Young, adding that at subsequent meetings there was no support either.

Stockbridge Parish Council's Tony Collinswood speaking as a member of the public, claimed that when the town authority submitted its views to the borough council, "it was flawed because there had been no debate and no minutes were registered and no vote called for."

Mr Collinswood then asked for the committee to disregard Stockbridge Parish Council's support for the development when making the decision.

He went on to register objections on the grounds of a possible increase in traffic and concerns about the environment.

"We locals don't want it. It is in the wrong place for the wrong reasons,"

he said.

Eurocare's agent Philip Jordan was challenged by the committee as to whether there was a need for the care home.

Mr Jordan told the committee Eurocare had looked at several sites in and around Stockbridge and the proposed site was the best option available.

"A study has shown that we will use all the beds. Our objective is to take people from Stockbridge and the surrounding area. We won't be bussing people in from Southampton.

People going into care homes have an average age of 91.We have told Hampshire social services, You give us the names and we will fill the beds'," said Mr Jordan, stressing the nursing home would be "affordable" for people in the area.

Borough planning chief, Maddy Winter, said the design of the building was too modern and the planners wanted "something like a farmyard" setting in this rural location.

She also expressed doubts whether the care home would be filled with clients from the local area.

Before the application was debated, committee member Danny Busk left the council chamber because his family trust owns the land earmarked for the care home.

Urging his colleagues to reject the proposals "out of hand", Romsey Tadburn ward's Mark Cooper said he did not want to see the contours of the Hampshire downland spoilt by levelling the land - currently used for agriculture - to make way for the care home.

"If there is a strong chosen need for this care home this is not the site for it," said Mr Cooper.

Blackwater member Tony Gentle expressed his concerns about care home clients and visitors walking down into Stockbridge from the site which has no roadside footway where the proposed entrance is planned.

"How can we allow old people to walk along the road?" said Mr Gentle.

Borough highway officer, Ray Alborough, was also unhappy there were no footpath plans included in the proposals.

"I believe there will be a significant increase in pedestrian use along the road and lives would be put at risk," he said North Baddesley member Steve Cosier said that after looking at statistics on need for a nursing home at Stockbridge he could not support the application.

"The figures don't support the need. The parish councils are the eyes and ears of the locals and we should listen to them. People don't want this nursing home. It will be a blot on the landscape. Policy is very clear, we have to look at the best sites with all the facilities. This is the wrong site," said Mr Cosier.