A GREEN light could be given to plans to build 1,000 homes near Beggarwood this week.

Members of Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council's Development Control Committee will meet on Wednesday to debate the plans to redevelop the site of Basingstoke Golf Course.

Bloor Homes submitted plans for the site last year after public consultation.

On top of the new houses, if approved, the development will see a local centre with community facilities and retail, a day nursery, open spaces, sports facilities and a Gypsy and Traveller pitch.

The allocation of the pitches had been controversial, with many residents making an objection based on this. Cllr Dan Putty, Conservative ward councillor for Hatch Warren and Beggarwood, had previously said he was "vehemently opposed to [a] travellers site on this application".

He continued: "I would respectfully suggest that a site can be found somewhere else, maybe near or on the wards [of] the councillors who put this in the local plan.

"I am absolutely dreading the damage it will do to community cohesion in my wards."

However, in the latest update to the plans, Bloor have relocated the pitches away from existing residents and closer to the local centre. Cllr Terri Reid (independent) had previously approved of the relocation.

The development is one of three in the area.

Hounsome Fields, directly opposite, has received planning permission, but work on the development has been delayed whilst a licence to fell trees is sought. Next door, work has already begun on Kennel Farm. It is estimated the three housing developments will create 1,750 new homes along the A30.

To access the development, a new roundabout is planned, roughly halfway between the traffic lights at the Holly Blue and the traffic lights close to M3 Junction 7.

The four arm roundabout would also serve as the main access to Hounsome Fields.

Additionally, secondary access is proposed from Beggarwood Lane, as is a pedestrian and cyclist crossing point further down the A30.

Existing woodland that surrounds the site will, mostly, be retained. A number of veteran, category A and category B trees will also be retained.

The development has even seen the creation of a Supplementary Planning Document, so the borough council could outline what would be acceptable for the site. It was allocated as housing in the most recent local plan.

As well as the other housing developments, a planning application is expected for a warehouse project at Oakdown Farm close to Junction 7, whilst land near that site has been touted as a potential new home for a hospital.

Additionally, traffic is set to increase along the A30 corridor in the coming years, following the Manydown development, of up to 3,520 homes near Winklebury, gaining outline planning permission earlier this month.

Councillors will debate granting outline planning permission for the development this week, meaning that the principal of development and access are the only items to be discussed at this stage.

The meeting takes place on Wednesday, July 22 at 2pm. You can watch the meeting at basingstoke.gov.uk/webcast.