THE granting of permission for 85 houses on a field in Petersfield is being scrutinised by government planning experts.

If they decide the permission should be re-examined , the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government will be advised to call the plans in.

There will then be a public inquiry and a government inspector from The Planning Inspectorate will decide if the permission is vaild or not.

The field, Penns A, is behind houses in Barnfield Road and Heathfield Road of Pulens Lane, and South Downs National Park Authority planners have given Kebbell Homes permission to build on it.

The field is owned by Petersfield Town Council, who have agreed to sell it to the developers for almost £6.5m.

A Petersfield Town Council spokesman said: “We wouldn’t expect this to delay completion of the sale to Kebbell Homes.

“If there are any questions, we would be amazed if the Secretary of State dealt with us at all on this matter.”

East Hampshire District Council planners decide most planning applications on behalf of the national park authority.

But the bigger ones like this are decided directly by national park planners, said a district council spokesman.

It could take the government experts up to six months to decide if the permission is valid, or should be called in and so trigger a public inquiry.

But last time Petersfield residents requested plans were studied by government inspectors to see if the permission should be called in, it took about a month for the experts to endorse permission for 200 houses to be built on land alongside The Causeway.