PLANS for a development of 63 new homes in Fordingbridge are to be discussed during a meeting next week. 

The application for the site at Burgate Acres, Salisbury Road is coming before Fordingbridge Town Council's planning committee on Wednesday (January 13).

The meeting is being held online via Zoom and starts at 7.30pm. Members of the public can join the online meeting. 

A statement from Fordingbridge Town Council said: "The planning application below will be discussed by Fordingbridge Town Council at the next Planning Committee meeting and a recommendation put forward to New Forest District Council as the Planning Authority."

The Burgate Acres proposals had been due to be discussed by Fordingbridge Town Council’s planning committee on December 9 but the date was pushed back for further reports to be submitted. 

The application has been submitted to New Forest District Council (NFDC) by Metis Homes.

Amendments have been made which include reducing the number of homes from 74 to 63.

The proposals also include the creation of a new access and open space.

When the initial plans for 74 homes were submitted it sparked concerns over safeguarding due to the close proximity to Fordingbridge Day Nursery.

A number of parents whose children attend the nursery had called for the boundary to be moved further away from the nursery and measures to address the safeguarding concerns.

Concerns were also raised over flooding and drainage, and about the proposed layout and impact on the A338.

The site is part of a larger area of land identified as Strategic Site 18 within New Forest District Council’s local plan.

Vehicle access, the plans state, will be from a new junction onto the A338 Salisbury Road into the Burgate Acres parcel adjacent to Burgate School.

The amended design proposal says the maximum scale of the properties will be two storey.

The final decision on whether planning permission is granted will be made by NFDC.