Environmental impact assessment needed on 375 homes plan north of Salisbury Road in Calmore

AN environmental impact assessment will be needed as part of plans to build up to 375 new homes on a site in Totton close to the national park boundary.

The proposed scheme by Bloor Homes and Barker-Mill Estates refers to a site north of Salisbury Road in Calmore which covers an area of around 26 hectares.

In a report by the New Forest District Council’s development control manager, said that when combined with a number of other nearby developments, the area north of Totton could see over 1,000 new homes built in the next few years.

Environmental impact assessments are required for schemes of over 1,000 homes or where they will impact on designated land such as Special Areas of Conservation.

The report, stated that as the scheme relates to an undeveloped greenfield site in close proximity to the New Forest National Park, the planning authority would follow a “precautionary principal” in requiring the EIA especially because other significant development is also proposed nearby.

It added: “Although the site is not within a 'sensitive' area, it is in close proximity to the national park and, being a sloping site that slopes downwards towards the M27 motorway, it is a highly visible site in landscape terms, particularly from public viewpoints to the north.”