A REVISED bid to provide an extension to a internationally renowned motorcycle museum in the New Forest is set to be approved due to "very special circumstances".

The scheme for Sammy Miller Museum in Bashley Cross Road goes before New Forest District Council's planning committee on Wednesday, February 13.

Officer Richard Natt has recommended that the development is granted subject to a series of conditions.

A previous proposal to expand the buildings on the site was refused in June last year.

The scheme was turned down under delegation due to its size, scale and "unsympathetic" design which would unacceptably detract from the character of the existing buildings.

The latest application, which proposes to demolish part of the existing building forming the west side of the courtyard and replace it with a two storey building, is not as tall as the previous application.

The museum is located in the South West Hampshire Green Belt and Mr Natt states the scheme would be unsuitable for the location, however the applicant has showed a unique case for the extension.

The officer says: "The proposed development is inappropriate development within the Green Belt although the applicant has demonstrated very special circumstances to warrant a departure from Green Belt policy, as a result, permission is recommended."

A statement submitted by the museum says visitor numbers are increasing year-on-year as the collection of motorcycle history grows.

It adds: "This museum has become one of the leading facilities in the motoring world detailing the history of transport and the development of transport and the development of various machines through the ages.

"The extension is positioned on the footprint of the existing buildings but because of its location will visually be hidden by the surrounding buildings in the complex from any outside views.

"The additional floor space is needed to accommodate the ever expanding story of motoring and provide better spaces for more imaginative illustrations."

The motorcycle museum first opened on the complex of former farm buildings in the mid-1990s.

Bashley ward councillor Neil Tungate supports the scheme.

"The Sammy Miller Museum is internationally renowned, and is something in which local residents take pride," said Cllr Tungate.

"We should support it for its excellence as a museum, as an educational facility, and as a local employer."