Up to 400 homes, 160 of them affordable, are planned for 30.6 hectares at Bere Hill off Churchill Way. Neighbour comments close 23 October; no school on site.
A plan for up to 400 homes on farmland at Bere Hill, on Andover’s southern edge, is now open for comment. The outline application was validated by Test Valley Borough Council on 29 September, and the deadline for neighbour comments is Friday 23 October.
The site covers 30.59 hectares between Ladies Walk and the A303, with Churchill Way (the A3093) along its eastern side. The reference is 26/02098/OUTN.
What is proposed
The application form and the applicant’s planning statement set out:
- up to 400 homes: 240 for sale and 160 affordable, which is 40%
- of the affordable homes, 112 for affordable or social rent and 48 intermediate, such as shared ownership
- a new roundabout on Churchill Way as the main way in, for cars, buses, bikes and people on foot
- an emergency access to the south, also open to walkers and cyclists
- a vehicle link to Micheldever Road on the western edge, plus footpath links
- 18.25 hectares of open space, including a 1.54 hectare countryside park in the west of the site and 0.6 hectares of play areas
- buildings of no more than three storeys, at about 37 homes per hectare on the built area
It is an outline application. Only the two accesses would be fixed now. The layout, the look of the homes and the exact mix of house sizes would come back later as reserved matters.
The form names Catesby Estates Ltd as the applicant. The planning statement, written by the agents Luken Beck, names Urban & Civic GE Estates Ltd. The nearest existing homes, in Springfield Close, are about 120 metres from the closest proposed house, the statement says.
Why it has come forward now
The site was part of a much larger allocation in the council’s draft Local Plan. Policy NA6 earmarked land south of Andover for about 1,400 homes. That draft has since been withdrawn: the council is restarting its Local Plan under the new national system.
The applicant’s case rests on the council’s housing land supply. Test Valley can show only 2.54 years of deliverable housing land, against the five years national policy expects. The planning statement puts the shortfall at 2,409 homes. Where a council cannot show five years, national policy tilts decisions towards granting permission unless the harm clearly outweighs the benefits.
The statement accepts that the site is outside Andover’s settlement boundary, and so conflicts with the adopted Local Plan’s countryside policy. It argues that the plan is out of date and the conflict is “narrow and technical”.
No school on the site
The withdrawn NA6 policy asked for at least 2 hectares of land for a two-form-entry primary school within the wider allocation. The planning statement lists that requirement, but this application does not include a school site.
Instead, the statement measures the walk to existing schools. It gives Norman Gate Primary School as about 1,450 metres away and Winton Community Academy as about 1,130 metres. The council told the applicant before it applied that “highways and education mitigation” would be sought through a legal agreement.
Hampshire County Council, which runs school places and the roads, had not posted a response on the planning portal when we checked on 10 October.
Who needs the affordable homes
The council’s housing team has replied to the application. It does not object or support. It points out that the site is in the countryside, and sets out what the affordable housing policy would require if the principle is accepted.
Its response says that on 5 October 2026, 2,150 households were on Test Valley’s housing register. 1,439 of them were looking in Andover, and more than half of those need a one-bedroom home.
The housing team asks for the affordable homes to be 70% affordable or social rent and 30% shared ownership, which matches the split in the planning statement. It also cites 258 enquiries about shared ownership homes in Test Valley between April and September 2026, mostly for two and three bedrooms.
Traffic, noise and the A303
The applicant’s transport work tested the local junctions in 2031 and 2036. It concludes the extra traffic “can be accommodated within the available capacity” and would not cause severe impacts. Hampshire County Council, as the highway authority, has the final word on that and has not yet responded.
The noise assessment finds most of the site at low or negligible risk. A limited number of homes closest to the new roundabout would face a medium risk of road noise at night. For those, the statement proposes better glazing and acoustic ventilators, with new planting along the A3093 and Ladies Walk boundaries.
The site also sits near three listed structures: the Grade II listed Iron Bridge on Ladies Walk, and the barn and granary at Picket Twenty Farm. The applicant says the plans would cause “no harm” to any of them.
What it means for you
- To comment, use the council’s planning portal and search for 26/02098/OUTN. Neighbour comments are due by 23 October; the site notice runs to 26 October.
- Comments count most when they deal with planning matters: traffic on Churchill Way, school places, drainage, the loss of countryside, or the effect on Ladies Walk.
- The council’s target date for a decision is 29 December 2026. The portal does not yet say whether councillors or officers will decide it.
- If you are on the housing register, nothing changes yet. Any affordable homes would only be let once the scheme had full permission and was built.
The applicant held a public exhibition at Picket Twenty Community Centre and Winton Community Academy on 19 May 2026. Its own record says 72 people attended and a newsletter went to about 1,910 addresses within 800 metres of the site.
For other schemes going through the system, see our Andover planning news page.
Sources
- Test Valley Borough Council planning portal, application 26/02098/OUTN: summary, details and dates tabs, read 10 October 2026, for the description, the 25 September receipt, 29 September validation, the 23 October neighbour and 26 October site notice deadlines, the 29 December determination date, the parish and ward, and the applicant and agent.
- Application form for the 30.59 hectare site, the 240 market and 160 affordable homes, and Catesby Estates Ltd as applicant.
- Luken Beck, planning statement for Urban & Civic GE Estates Ltd, September 2026, in six parts on the portal (part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6), for the tenure split, open space table, accesses, density and heights, the NA6 requirements and 1,400-home allocation, the 2.54 years and 2,409-home shortfall, the school distances, the pre-application advice, the exhibition, the noise, transport and heritage conclusions, and the Springfield Close distance.
- Test Valley Borough Council housing team, consultation response, posted 6 October 2026, for the housing register figures at 5 October, the Andover bedroom split, the shared ownership enquiries and the 70:30 tenure requirement.
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