Plans for 130 new homes and a country park at Sapley Lane in Overton have been approved following an appeal, overturning an earlier rejection by Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council.
The development will see a 19-hectare site at Sapley Lane transformed by Bargate into a housing scheme alongside a large country park. Councillors had refused the plans in September 2025, raising concerns about the impact on the landscape.
However, the Planning Inspectorate ruled that any harm would be limited and localised, and that the benefits – particularly the delivery of affordable housing and new green space – would clearly outweigh those concerns.
Bargate’s managing director, Mark White, said the decision brings long-awaited progress. He said the scheme will deliver much-needed homes while returning most of the land to the community as open space.
The revised plans include a commitment to 40 per cent affordable housing, addressing one of the council’s earlier objections. This will be delivered by Vivid, Bargate’s parent company, with most of the homes offered for rent and the rest through intermediate options.
Around 80 per cent of the site will remain as green open space, including a 15-hectare country park. Plans for the park feature natural play areas, picnic spots, seating, and new planting, along with rewilding to support wildlife. The scheme is expected to deliver a biodiversity net gain of more than 100 per cent.
The homes themselves will be built to be zero-carbon ready, with features such as air-source heat pumps, solar panels and electric vehicle charging points.
Local amenities, including shops, allotments, playing fields, a doctor’s surgery and the primary school, are all within walking distance, with the railway station a short cycle away.
A more detailed Reserved Matters application, setting out the final design of the development, is due to be submitted later this year.
