THERE was a mixed response to the decision by planners to defer a decision on the 200 home estate on Causeway Farm in Petersfield.

The move by the South Downs National Park Authority planning committee was to allow design details for the homes to be finalised, to clarify proposals for footpaths, and to pinpoint exactly where a pond that is part of the sewage system will be.

Petersfield town councillor Jamie Matthews was one of three people who spoke against the development at the planning committee meeting on April 14.

Cllr Matthews, who was on the Petersfield Neighbourhood Plan (PNP) steering committee, said he saw the application as a “key test” for the effectiveness of the PNP, a planning policy document that earmarked Causeway Farm as an ideal site for new homes.

He said there needed to be a step up in quality to meet the requirements laid out in the plan and that he was pleased the decision had been deferred.

He said: “It’s absolutely key that if we are going to have a development that it is positive for the whole community, and it’s just not at the moment.”

Christopher Napier OBE also spoke against the plans on behalf of the Petersfield Society and the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England Hampshire, and said after the meeting, deferment was a “sensible” decision.

He added: “In principle, the proposed development has a lot of potential, and it’s on a sensible site, but there are still a number of issues and it has to be improved.

It was disappointment though for East Hampshire district councillor Ben Bentley, he also spoke against the planning the application submitted by David Wilson Homes, Bovis Homes, and developers 4L.

Cllr Bentley, who represents The Causeway, said: “I am not happy as I wanted it to be refused and so do the residents in my ward.”

Broadway Park resident Elizabeth Williamson attended the meeting; a fortnight ago she raised a 200 signature petition from Broadway Park and Cause way residents opposing the proposed estate.

She said: “Everyone I spoke to apart from one was really cross about the development. They are really worried about parking, speeding, and space at the doctors.

“At the meeting they never once mentioned that they would be building on a water meadow, or that water runs off from the fields into properties as it is. I am not relieved a decision was deferred as it will just come back and they will build on it.”

Causeway resident Simon Carew said he was resigned to the fact that once the design details were agreed the application is likely to be approved.

Jeff Kamen of The Causeway said: “The deferment shows the committee listened to the national park design officer, and that the PNP has some weight and they have paid attention to it.”

Laura Brailey, also of The Causeway, said: “The estate is inevitable, they have been trying for years to build there, we have tried everything to stop it, but there’s nothing we can do.”