DETAILED plans for an affordable housing development in Suckley have been revealed.

Elgar Housing Association plans to build a plot of six houses, provisionally on a site in Woodland Road, although the landowner has yet to confirm the sale.

The development will feature a mixture of two and three bedroom houses, some of which will be rented out and some bought on a shared ownership basis.

There will also be 12 car-parking spaces for the residents.

The development is the result of a housing needs survey carried out in 2001 which identified the need for housing for young people and families in the village. Funding has been allocated to the project by the Housing Corporation, on the proviso that work begins within the current financial year.

A legal agreement will ensure that the housing is used primarily for Suckley people in need of accommodation. It will mean that when people leave the rental properties, new tenants must also come from the area.

Alan Saunders, Housing Initiatives Officer for Elgar Housing, gave a presentation to Suckley Parish Council at its meeting on Tuesday night.

He told members the council would continue to be involved in monitoring the site once it was built and would be consulted on any further development or changes.

Councillors raised concern the plans would cause some controversy among local people, as has happened in Alfrick, where a similar development is being looked into.

But Mr Saunders said: "There are always going to be people who object just because of where the site is but these objections have to be taken with a pinch of salt. But if people have strong reasons, that's a different matter."

Mr Saunders added that the plans could be altered if residents showed strong feeling against certain aspects.

The council agreed that a public presentation should be held on Tuesday, September 7, at Suckley Village Hall. The meeting will start at 7.30pm when plans for the development will be on show and representatives from Elgar Housing will give further details.