TRAVELLERS looking to move to farmland in Curdridge have launched an appeal against city planners after their controversial plans were rejected.

The Pages applied for change of use on Bowen Farm, Wangfield Lane, to let them set up a private gypsy and traveller site with three pitches.

More than 20 residents attended a Curdridge Parish Council meeting in December to oppose the scheme, claiming the application was incomplete and contained errors.

In a submission to Winchester City Council, parish chiefs said: "There was no evidence of the family's existing links to the community that would enable integration/mitigation rather than increase tension in a rural community."

The city council rejected the scheme in March after receiving 21 formal objections from 16 households. Planning officers said the development would create "urban sprawl" on the cramped rural plot, adding that gypsy and traveller sites were already well served in Curdridge and Shedfield.

Comments can be submitted to the national Planning Inspectorate until September 9.