BASINGTOKE council's leader has hit back at a Hamworthy councillor for a comment made about his town during a council meeting.

Cllr Brian Gurden, from Basingstoke, was responding to Hamworthy East councillor Mike White's warning that Hamworthy would turn into "Basingstoke on Sea" if a 340-dwelling waterside development was built at Shapwick Road.

Cllr Gurden said: "I do think it's a bit sad when councillors on one authority make silly, and from my point of view, irrelevant and obnoxious comments about another authority.

"Clearly, whoever said this doesn't know too much about Basingstoke and in my view it would be inappropriate for me to be too critical about them in their ignorance."

He added that Basingstoke had come on very well in the past 10 years and had just been nominated for beacon status for its affordable housing - a consideration in the Shapwick Road development.

"I just hope that Poole councillors draw breath and get on with the job of a proper exercise of their powers and improve their own borough," he said.

"Good luck to them."

Cllr White, who worked in Basingstoke for many years, said he liked the town and had not intended to denigrate it by the comment.

"The point I wanted to make was that I don't think we want high- density building on the Shapwick site, because it's out of context with the neighbourhood," he said.

A headline in Friday's Daily Echo said that the proposed development in Shapwick Road had been rejected. In fact, the proposal has been deferred for further negotiations with the developer. We apologise for the error.

First published: November 20