A community is celebrating after Basingstoke council threw out plans for 134 homes in a north Hampshire village.
Residents in Worting formed the Worting Area Residents Association in opposition to Wates Developers’ planning application. And at last week’s Development Control Committee members sided with the group and rejected the proposals.
Charles Huggett, chairman of WARA, said: “This is great news for the residents of Worting and the surrounding area. Worting is a small village with lots of character; it would be a real shame to see a development like this consume our village. The local infrastructure cannot sustain a development of this size and nature. The proposed plans were inappropriate and disproportionate for our village.”
The site, on Worting Farm, was not included in the borough council’s five-year plan for development and WARA concluded by saying they hope for similar support should the developer choose to appeal. Cllr Robert Taylor, representing the Buckskin ward, spoke of his delight at the decision.
“I am absolutely thrilled with the decision of the Development Control Committee,” he told the Observer. “I was at the meeting with members of WARA, who deserve so much praise for the way they quickly mobilised themselves to combat this unnecessary development. This is a great victory for the residents of the Worting area in general.
“Thanks to this decision, the tradition and heritage of Worting remains in tact and I take my hat off to the people who worked so hard for this decision.”
