THE government must act to prevent Hampshire turning into a "huge urban sprawl", the county's civic chief has said.

Cllr Roy Perry has told ministers to invest in infrastructure and protect the countryside under plans for a combined Hampshire and Isle of Wight authority.

Local leaders are approaching "crunch time" over a deal which is set to devolve powers and multi-million pound budgets from Westminster to the region, a meeting heard.

Cllr Perry, leader of Hampshire County Council, called for new green belts around Southampton and Portsmouth, saying it was "almost unbelievable" that the only formal strip in the county was around Lymington.

"Hampshire should not become one large building plot - it is important that the communities, settlements, must not coalesce into one huge urban sprawl," he said.

"If the government cannot give those guarantees, they cannot be surprised if the people of Hampshire show some reluctance over the scale of the development that could be urged upon us."

Cllr Perry also called for ministers to invest in transport as part of the deal.

He said: "The roads of Hampshire are congested, the railways of Hampshire are not up to scratch - there needs to be big investment, and we are saying to the government we want guarantees on that infrastructure."

Ministers believe the Hampshire and Isle of Wight bid is the frontrunner in the south, Cllr Perry added.

"I'm 100 per cent certain that there will be some form of devolution or even local government reorganisation by the end of this parliament. The question is whether we in Hampshire are setting the pace and will be one of the frontrunners influencing the scheme or whether we will be one of those taking a backseat and having things done to us rather than things done by us."