EAST Hampshire District Council planners have approved building of an outdoor manege.

The owners of Waterside, a property on the border of Passfield and Bramshott, also proposed the conversion of an existing agricultural building to provide American barn-style stabling with five boxes, a tack room, feed store, a mess room, water down and solarium area and room for potential future stabling, which was also approved.

Waterside is a large detached property in open countryside located in the River Wey Conservation Area, and has a bridleway running across its land.

Bramshott and Liphook Parish Council’s planning committee had no objection in principle but raised concerns regarding the loss of agricultural land, the location of the proposed manege, and councillors stressed it should be for private use only.

They also supported concerns brought to their attention by a neighbour about the scale of the development on agricultural land and the new access track.

But EHDC officers concluded it would not result in unacceptable harm to the landscape’s character nor to the setting of the conservation area and the nearby public bridleway. It would also have no harmful impacts on the local highway.