PROTESTERS have lost their battle to stop a massive sand and gravel pit being dug at Shootash.

Hampshire County Council's regulatory committee voted last week to give the green light to Raymond Brown's plans to extract 804,000 tonnes of sand and gravel and erect a mineral-processing plant on land in the Roke Manor Farm area.

Access to the site will be made off the A27 Romsey to Whiteparish road and includes the demolition of a bungalow.

The Test Way long-distance footpath, which crosses the western section of the extraction site, will be re-routed while the minerals are dug out.

There will be a phased restoration of the land, currently used to keep pigs, to agriculture status following the digging, estimated to take 10 years. A start date for excavation has yet to be given.

An estimated 84 lorry movements will be made daily in and out of the site during extraction and restoration work and all vehicles will travel along the A27 towards Romsey, except when making local deliveries.

The action group, Shootash Against Gravel (Sage), was set up to fight the extraction plans when the scheme was announced last year.

Romsey's Conservative parliamentary candidate and borough cabinet member, Caroline Nokes, represented Sage at the county's regulatory meeting.

Following the decision, Mrs Nokes said: "Of great concern is the potential cumulative impact of further extraction and fill in Shootash. The processing plant is a departure from the preferred plan and premature when taken in the context of the plan review.

"Shootash residents already have to tolerate the workings and associated traffic at Squabb Wood and the addition of this site now, plus the potential works at Stanbridge Ranvilles Farm. This is an intolerable load on the residents, the road network and the environment."

Stressing the need for strict operating guidelines to be enforced, Mrs Nokes added: "The impact of the popular and well-known Test Way is deeply regrettable. The footpath is well used and is publicised as one of the borough's attractions.

"Its diversion past extraction workings and subsequent landfill will certainly make it significantly less attractive to local ramblers."

Hampshire's Romsey Extra division membe, Roy Perry, also had concerns about the site .

Although he acknowledged the need for sand and gravel in Hampshire and the fact that the site was identified in 1998 for mineral extraction, Cllr Perry said he was worried about the amount the traffic to and from the site. He was not convinced all lorry drivers would respect the restrictions limiting their routes.

However, he was pleased one important concession had been made - to delay the starting time on Saturday mornings from 7am to 8am, although he thought a 7am start time in the week was still too early.

As for the land itself, Cllr Perry said: "I raised concerns about the need for strong landscaping and got an assurance there would be no floodlighting, only security lights."

The Ramblers Association was also opposed to the plans because of the effect on the Test Way. Parish councils at Awbridge, Sherfield English and Braishfield expressed concerns about the scheme.