Three of the candidates hoping to win the Alton Rural division in the Hampshire County Council election have supported a campaign against over-development in Four Marks and Medstead.
The Stand with Medstead Against Speculative Housing group - SMASH - said Conservative Antonia Cox, Liberal Democrat Alexandra Ehrmann and Reform UK candidate David Burton had all endorsed its ‘Declaration of the Concerned’.
This opposes the proposal by CALA Homes and Bewley Homes to build 850 houses east and west of Lymington Bottom Road in Medstead.
SMASH chair Steve Adams said: “Should this proposal come forward as a planning application, many residents fear it would effectively finish off 'South Medstead' as a village as it would be totally urbanised, with a dramatic increase in traffic on the local village roads.
“It would put pressure on services and utilities, and finally it would concrete over the last of the green fields in this part of Medstead.”
The Alton Rural division encompasses Medstead, Four Marks and their surrounding villages from Bentley to Ropley - all areas along the A31 corridor which are threatened with massive housing development.
SMASH’s petition against a number of plans to build a total of 1,300 houses in Four Marks and Medstead has now surpassed 5,000 signatures, representing more than two-thirds of the two villages’ population.
Mr Adams added: “The strength of this response sends a powerful message to decision-makers at East Hampshire District Council and beyond: local residents are deeply concerned about the scale and pace of development proposed for our villages.
“In Medstead alone, 257 homes have already been approved but not yet built, and the impact of these developments is still unknown.
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