PROTESTERS are celebrating after Winchester city councillors narrowly threw out controversial plans to build a log cabin holiday village in an ancient woodland.

The proposed development of 98 cabins in Black Wood, near Micheldever Station, had sparked strong opposition from local residents, Micheldever Parish Council and wildlife groups, but planning officers recommended it for approval.

At a packed planning committee meeting at Warren Hall in Micheldever Station on Monday, villagers clapped and cheered as councillors rejected the advice of their officers and refused the scheme by four votes to three.

Tory city councillor Stephen Godfrey, who represents Wonston and Micheldever and spoke against the scheme, said: “The pressure of objections came entirely from local people, the Dever Society and parish council."

Cllrs Ian Tait and Barry Lipscomb and fellow Conservative councillors Eileen Berry and Ernest Jeffs voted against the scheme, while chairman Cllr Robert Johnston and fellow Liberal Democrats Raymond Pearce and Allan Mitchell voted for it.

Among the reasons for refusal were concerns about the impact on the habitat of the endangered dormouse.