DEVELOPERS are hoping it is second time lucky on plans for homes on the urban fringe submitted in double quick time.

King Alfred developer Crest Nicholson has submitted refined plans for 125 homes north of Graham Avenue in Mile Oak – just three months after a scheme for the same number of homes was turned down.

More than 360 residents opposed the plans in April and the latest application seems set to face similar levels of opposition with more than a dozen objections already tabled.

The developers say the new plans “positively addresses” the grounds for refusal of the last scheme but residents say the alterations do not go far enough to address ecological concerns and how roads and GP surgeries will cope with increased pressures.

The plans were rejected in April over concerns of a dangerous and narrow access road from Mile Oak Road, increased traffic on surrounding roads and the ecological harm to the Mile Oak Fields Site of Nature Conservation Importance.

One committee member criticised the decision to reject plans with 40 per cent affordable homes, which had the backing of officers, as “short-sighted”.

Crest had indicated they were considering an appeal in May but instead submitted an amended application.

A company spokesman said removing a road to homes from Mile Oak Road allowed more land to be retained as open space for the public.

Five family homes to be served by that road have been removed and replaced with seven two-bedroom flats to be relocated more centrally on the site.

A financial contribution is also proposed for the improvement of ten acres of scrubland at Whitehawk Hill converting it to chalk grassland for the next ten years offering a “dramatic” increase in local biodiversity.

The spokesman added: “The site will provide 125 much needed homes, the majority of which will be for families, 50 of which will be sold or rented at below market value.

North Portslade ward Councillor Peter Atkinson said he would be seeking public opinion and examining the application closely to ensure major concerns around congestion, flooding and disruption during construction had been addressed.

Resident Roger Harper said: “I understand the pressure the council is under to deliver houses but if we are going to build on green fields, we need to do it well.

“When North Portslade was developed about 20 years ago, there was widespread consultation on infrastructure. Now they seem to want to build without building any infrastructure.

“For me they still have not addressed the fundamental problems of traffic along Fox Way and to the link road.

“How can the committee agree to something that will increase the risk to pedestrians and cyclists?”

A decision on the new plans is expected in October.