Holybourne will become “a suburb” of Alton if plans to build 160 homes on its green edge are approved.

That was the belief of a councillor and a heaving crowd amid vehement opposition to the biggest housing plan to hit the village for decades.

Figures at Redbrown already knew of the “very strong opposition” against their plans to develop 13 acres behind 136 to 150 London Road ahead of last night’s special Alton Town Council meeting in the Assembly Rooms.

The council can only comment on the scheme, as the final decision will be made by their East Hampshire district counterparts.

But they can expect a long list of objections with “red lines” being drawn over the estate’s impact on roads, the environment, school and surgery places, heritage and infrastructure, for starters.

The Holybourne Village Association begun by giving a 20-minute presentation to ATC behind closed doors.

So it was fitting the first person to speak was HVA legend Jerry Janes, with the former district councillor being quick to hail the turnout with around 200 attending.

He said: “Their presence reflects our concerns – this development will affect our village in a very detrimental way.”

“It’s the richness of variety in this country that we need to hang onto,” said another speaker, adding: “We don’t want a homogenous society where each community is a suburb of another community.”

“We believe we have a strong legal case. Some people call it an abomination – I call it disproportionate.”

Tim Carmichael said Holybourne residents aren’t usually ones to protest, so urged planners to make their decision with “integrity, fairness” and “community voices” in mind.

Redbrown representative, Charles Buckley, was also applauded, albeit mutedly, for his measured response.

He said: “We would be fools if we didn’t recognise there’s very strong opposition to our application.

“We have made a significant investment in the region – we sense the fear is coming from the unknown.

“We’ve had three pre-apps with the local planning authority, we’re receptive and we believe very strongly it’s incumbent on us and our neighbours to work together.

“If we pull the planning application to address the details we will, but we don’t really want to do that because we’ve done a lot.

“We believe we can do this and do a really special job.”

Attendees learned that ATC has a 12-point checklist when it comes to reviewing significant applications. They give the response to each category a red, orange or green rating with the outcome to most invariably being red at last night’s meeting.

“I think it would change the character of Holybourne from being a rural small village to being a suburb of Alton and that’s a big red line,” said Cllr Graham Hill, before raising concerns about the impact on traffic on London Road.

Cllr Annette Eyre, who chaired the meeting, felt the traffic survey was flawed, saying: “The survey needs to be done in school time over a period of time and not just one day.”

Cllr Nick O’Brien said the NHS have stated there are “no spare places” at the town’s surgeries with the applicants also making no mention of school places, with St Andrew’s Endowed being oversubscribed.

Cllr Matthew Kellerman, not usually known for agreeing with ATC, urged resistance – not just in Holybourne, but for people around Alton facing similar applications.

He said: “It’s going to have a very serious and detrimental effect on Holybourne and the town as a whole.

“My final opinion is the only way this is going to be thwarted is by getting the HVA and all the residents’ groups together and resisting anything.”