PLANS for a new brewery on farmland have angered residents amid fears it will cause traffic problems and force down house prices.

Upham Brewery bosses want to build a two-storey factory to allow the company to expand.

The firm, which employs five full-time members of staff, is currently based in agricultural buildings at Stakes Farm at the junction of Stakes Lane and Cross Lane near Upham.

Plans to move across the field towards Bishop’s Waltham, with access from Ashton Lane, will mean the company can still access the area’s water – something it says is crucial to the unique taste of its products.

But people living nearby are worried the new site will cause problems on the already-busy Winchester Road, decrease house prices and potentially give developers a “green light” to build on the rest of the green field.

They had a chance to see the plans at a public consultation.

Mark Braund, who lives with his family at Durley House opposite where the factory will be located, said: “I believe in economic prosperity but not when it impacts on local residents who have invested in the area.

I’m really concerned about the traffic coming in and out.

“There will be an economic impact on anyone who has bought a house in the area, too. It’s a factory, one that makes beer, but a factory with all the smells that go with it.”

Another local resident, who did not want to be named, said: “It’s just open fields. I’m sure there are other places it could go. It’s going to be nearly 30 feet high – that’s very tall in a big open space.”

Planning consultant John White said: “The business is expanding and the present premises doesn’t allow for expansion. One of the critical elements is the water.

They have already got a borehole and we’re going to drill a new one.

“Moving closer to the road will improve access and build a bespoke building which will be environmentally friendly, including solar panels and its own water supply, to make it a self-sufficient building.”

Head brewer James Stephenson said the new building will allow the company to expand up to five times its current rate of output.

Daily Echo:

Upham Brewery currently produces around 2,000 casks of beer a year. The new facility would allow it to produce 60,000. The company’s three core real ales are Tipster, Punter and Stakes.

If planning permission is granted Mr Stephenson hopes they will begin to move into the site as early as the autumn.

A second consultation will be held for Bishop’s Waltham residents on February 5 at the Jubilee Hall from 6.45pm-8.15pm.