A CAMPAIGN group hoping to resist development on sensitive land has praised Alton Town Council (ATC) for objecting to hundreds of new houses.

Developers Crest Nicholson already have outline permission to build up to 280 homes on the former Lord Mayor Treloar Hospital site in Alton.

But when a reserved matters application came before the town council, the plan hit another bump in the road with members objecting.

The feeling was that not enough had been done to address established concerns with the project.

Chair of the Preserve Treloar Meadow Campaign, Ginny Boxall, told the Herald this was a step in the right direction.

She said the group "would like to thank ATC for again standing up for the meadows in opposing the updated plans".

The campaign’s primary concern is the loss of unique wildlife habitats.

And councillors agreed, placing conservation at the top of their list of objections.

"The value of the site for conservation was clearly a concern at the outline stage and as such was hard-wired into the consent, to ensure a fully-detailed scheme of site-wide ecological mitigation, compensation and enhancement measures was submitted," the council said.

"At this time it is felt this condition cannot be satisfied and falls short of the requirements."

Members also still did not like the look of the development.

"There have been a number of cosmetic changes to the appearance of the properties which is welcomed. However, overall the design of homes would still benefit from enhanced appearance," their submission read.

The design and material choices for the development "appear bland with insufficient variations to denote the varied and historic background of the site with the blocks of flats in particular looking barrack like in their appearance".

"The plain and austere presentation needs to better reflect the landscape and provide more visual interest," the council added.

The committee acknowledged the changes made to the layout and also welcomed the alterations made to the garage sizes to ensure conformity with the Alton Neighbourhood Plan.

However, councillors still had concerns around parking provision, pedestrian access from Chawton Park Road and said the loss of the Site of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC) is "very regrettable".

As it has been through consultation stages, concerns have been raised with the environmental impact, street layout, narrow roads that could throw up problems for emergency access and the positioning of blocks of flats deemed by some to be too close to existing properties on neighbouring Treloar Heights.

Ultimately, critics of the scheme think the ecologically-sensitive meadowland that had been gifted to the people of Alton by Lord Mayor Treloar should remain untouched.

The Preserve Treloar Meadow Campaign is principally concerned with the loss of "22 hectares of rare chalk downland".

Because they had historically been "left untouched", the meadows have become "a rich haven for native orchids, butterflies, moths and bees". The land also forms a "valuable wildlife corridor" for larger animals.

But developers Crest Nicholson think the plans will suitably mitigate any ecological harm as a "well connected green infrastructure network is proposed for the site".

"Alongside the retained woodlands and country park, linear corridors of retained trees and hedges draws the landscape into the development parcels, and reinforce existing wildlife corridors," they said.

"Integrating the proposals with the landscape has also included the boundary treatments and planting palette used in the scheme with an aim that the selected species will complement the natural setting and add to the built form."

Alton Town Council is a consultee in the context of planning applications. The final decision is in East Hampshire District Council’s hands.