Residents battle to keep green spaces

Leigh Jackson writes: A group of Hampshire residents are locked in a battle with property developers hoping to build on their gardens.

The residents of Bath Road, Bitterne, have already fended off three previous proposals and now Clydesdale Estates, the firm hoping to complete the build, has come back with a fourth proposal, the Daily Echo reports.

Commenting on the plans, Ken Lockyer, a local resident who petitioned two of the previous bids, told the publication: "We are not going to accept great big houses stuck up against our garden fences."

The latest proposals include six three bedroom homes and two four bedroom homes, a significant departure from previous plans which incorporated a number of flats.

Hopeful that the firm will finally succeed, Kevan Netherwood, a director of Clydesdale Estates, added: "Wherever you have brownfield development there will always be a case where people have enjoyed it beforehand and will be against it. You cannot appease everyone."

Meanwhile, residents from a street in Solihull have won their battle against property development firm Sandstone Group, who had hoped to build on 70 gardens in the local area but had their plans rejected by the local council.

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