WORK will begin next month to build nearly 30 new affordable homes in the New Forest after controversial planning applications were given the go-ahead.

Plans for 27 new homes split between sites in Brockenhurst and Hordle were approved last year.

Ten homes - six one-bed flats, two three-bed houses and two two-bed houses – will be built on land north east of Vinneys Close in Brockenhurst.

The site, which borders the railway line, falls outside the village boundary, and so can only be used for affordable housing.

But local residents and the parish council had raised concerns about flooding, saying ground water levels at the site were too high.

However, in a report to the New Forest National Park Authority’s planning committee, officers said that the developer’s survey suggested that the ground water was lower than in other areas, and that the lower levels were more permeable.

And the report also concluded that, despite Brockenhurst Parish Council’s fears over the number of one-bed flats, the mix of units was acceptable because there were 31 people waiting for single-room accommodation in the New Forest.

Meanwhile, a further 17 homes – seven pairs of semi-detached houses, two semi-detached dormer bungalows, and one detached house - will be developed on the site of a former nursery in Hordle.

Prior to the plans by developer The Hyde Group being approved, locals called for the application to be thrown out, claiming it amounted to overdevelopment and would create extra traffic problems in the area.

However, the application was approved by an overwhelming majority.

The homes in both Brockenhurst and Hordle will be for people with a local connection, either through living or working in the parish.