CAMPAIGNERS are fighting plans to build 145 homes in the New Forest.

Two developers have sparked fury by submitting proposals to build a new estate beside a disused railway line that marks the northern boundary of Fordingbridge.

People living in the area say the new homes will generate too much traffic as well as placing extra strain on schools and other services.

If planning permission is granted the properties will be built on rural land off Whitsbury Road.

Objectors include Scott Hanham, of Dudley Avenue, Fordingbridge, whose letter to New Forest District Council said: “The proposed development contains too many dwellings - 70-100 would be more suited to the space available.The local infrastructure is already creaking under the strain."

Fellow protester Callie Wilson, of Bedford Close, Fordingbridge, added: “Fordingbridge is already a fairly large, semi-rural town with houses piled on top of each other on numerous estates. Pushing the housing boundary further out will take away the New Forest feel of the town.”

Applicants Highwood Homes and Pennyfarthing Homes claim traffic assessments show the housing will have “no adverse effects on the existing transport network”.

Planning documents say the scheme includes starter homes and affordable housing, adding that the properties will make a valuable contribution to housing in the Forest. They also describe it as an “appropriate development” for an edge-of-settlement site north of Fordingbridge.