CHILBOLTON Parish Council and village residents have been left furious over a planning application at Test Valley Farm.

A previous planning application for seven homes on the site, owned by former Hampshire County Councillor Andrew Gibson, was rejected by Test Valley Borough Council in October 2022 only to be immediately replaced by a new application for four properties. 

Both plans have been strongly opposed by Chilbolton Parish Council and a local residents' action group on the grounds that they were in direct conflict with the village’s own Neighbourhood Development Plan, which specifies all developments should provide a mix of one, two and three-bedroom properties to ensure the village builds the right type of affordable housing for its needs. 

There are many wider concerns, cited by the borough council in rejecting the original application, particularly around access, parking and safety. 

Sue Larcombe, chair of Chilbolton Parish Council's planning committee, said: “We cannot understand how this approach can just be seen as an amendment to the original proposals.

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House design for Test Valley Farm (Image: Contributed)

“There are now hundreds of documents to wade through and try and spot what has changed and none of our previous concerns appear to have been addressed. In our view, this is an entirely new plan and needs to go through proper process.” 

Chilbolton residents are being represented at the northern area planning committee by Geoff Cooper, the borough councillor for North Baddesley. 

This unusual step was taken after Cllr David Drew, of both Hampshire County Council and Test Valley Borough Council, who should speak on behalf of the Chilbolton residents, was unable to do so due to personal connections with Test Valley Farm owner, Andrew Gibson. 

Cllr Cooper said: “The residents of Chilbolton deserve to be heard. The survey completed only last month confirms their need for affordable and downsize homes in the village in line with the neighbourhood plan.” 

The parish council has developed plans to set up a Community Land Trust to deliver 20 new affordable and downsize properties in Chilbolton by 2030. 

Cllr Cooper added: “We need more houses in Test Valley but planning must be community-led not developer-led. The Chilbolton Community Trust plan is a great example we hope many others across Test Valley will follow and TVBC needs to step up and play its part.”