PLANS for two new housing developments in Picket Piece have been refused by the borough council for a raft of reasons.

A pair of proposals were lodged with Test Valley Borough Council in September and October of last year, which could have seen a total of 99 homes built across two sites within a few hundred metres of each other.

But both applications have since been rejected with more than a dozen reasons for refusal cited.

The first proposal outlined plans to build 64 homes on land north of 11 Walworth Road, as well as “supporting uses and green infrastructure to create a sustainable and vibrant new housing area within Picket Piece”.

However, the council says that “part of the site would be located within the countryside” rather than the new neighbourhood boundary outlined for Picket Piece in the authority’s revised Local Plan.

There were also concerns raised over the style of the buildings, the road layout, noise impacts, the drainage strategy, occupants’ privacy, a lack of public space provision and more, as the council cited 16 reasons for refusal in total.

The second proposal outlined plans to build 35 homes on land at the rear of 3 Walworth Road. These homes would comprise a mix of two-bed flats and three or four-bed houses.

Again, though, the council cited a number of reasons to refuse the plans, with 11 listed this time around.

Those reasons include issues such as the loss of natural habitats, noise disturbance, open spaces, parking, the style of the buildings, amenity space and more.

Both applications were put together by Foreman Homes, a housebuilder based in Southampton.

The company had previously submitted a reserved matters planning application for up to 82 dwellings on land adjacent to 10 Walworth Road, which was approved by the borough council in January last year.

The applications are part of plans to build approximately 400 new dwellings together with a range of facilities in Picket Piece.

This is outlined in Policy COM6 of the Test Valley Borough Revised Local Plan 2016, which states that development will be permitted on the basis of affordable housing provision, improvements to community and education facilities, public open space provision, access to the development and more.