CONTROVERSIAL plans to develop woodland in Highcliffe into housing have now been objected to by the parish council.

At an extraordinary meeting on Wednesday, Highcliffe and Walkford Parish Council (HWPC) unanimously agreed to formally oppose the Jesmond Avenue scheme.

It said the move has been made “in light of the additional information made available” since it first considered the planning application.

The proposals for the land, submitted by Brentland Ltd, seek permission for the construction of 23 homes and are being considered by BCP Council.

It previously withdrew a 54-home scheme last year and said its revised plans were guided by the “opportunities of the site and the established character of the area”.

The parish council considered the application in December where it decided against formally opposing it, but it did request conditions be imposed to protect trees.

But more than 300 people have objected to the application, while the Woodland Trust has also raised concerns the site could be part of an unmapped ancient woodland.

And BCP Council’s urban design officer has also raised issues with the proposals, including “the scale of the tree loss” and said the scheme “falls short” of planning policy requirements.

In response, the parish council held an extraordinary meeting on Wednesday evening to reconsider its position on the plans.

“In the light of the additional information made available since HWPC last considered the Jesmond Avenue planning application, particularly in relation to ecological and environmental issues, the parish now formally objects to the application and wishes to advise BCP Council of its position,” its members agreed.

The concerns it has raised with BCP Council planning officers centre around the reduction in the size of the environmental corridor the land acts as.

“The application does propose a green corridor, but by comparison to the existing woodland, this is narrow and does not provide the same scale of usage for wildlife as the existing corridor habitat,” its submission says.

And it has also backed calls from the Woodland Trust to assess the land to see whether it is ancient woodland.

The consultation period on the planning application ended on Thursday and BCP Council planning officers will consider the scheme in the coming weeks.