Plans for hundreds of new homes on farmland which inspired Watership Down have been submitted despite major opposition - including from its author before his death.

The fresh application for 360 homes at Sandleford Park follows a planning inspectorate giving the green-light for 1,000 new homes at the site last year.

The site was first allocated for development in 2012 - and multiple schemes failed over the next decade.

Among those objecting to the principle of development of the site was the Watership Down author Richard Adams, who spoke out about the proposals before his death seven years ago.

In his iconic novel, rabbits flee Sandleford Warren, which is about to be destroyed by bulldozers.

And in a real-life echo of the fictional children's classic, protesters have continued to fight development and said protected habitats and ancient woodlands would be at risk.

The larger development of more than a thousand homes from Bloor Homes was approved after an appeal last year.

The latest application, submitted by Donnington New Homes, is to the west of that site and is already getting objections despite only being submitted last week.

One local said: "Clearly as a nation we need more houses but only if they don’t degrade the environment."

The applicants said it will protect Brick Hill Copse and other woodland “of value” on the site.

The development will also retain New Warren Farm House as part of the area’s agrictultural heritage.

Around 2,000 homes have been earmarked for the whole of the Sandleford site, with half of those due to be built before 2026 after the government intervened to over rule West Berkshire Council’s rejection of the plans.

Thousands of fans flock to the site in Hampshire each year to follow in the footsteps of the novel's gang of rabbits.

And Adams, who grew up in the area, raised concern that the green fields and woodland which inspired his book were at risk of disappearing forever.

He said: "It is my firm belief that to build on the quiet meadows of Sandleford would be an ugly invasion, a nasty wound to one of the loveliest retreats in all Berkshire and Hampshire.

"I understand that houses need to be built, and that people need homes to live in.

"But any dispassionate examination of the situation leads to the emphatic conclusion that this land should not be built on.

"If Sandleford goes for development, it will be the thin end of the wedge.

"Once an area of countryside has been broken into for development, the process continues until the whole area has been ruined. I might be dead, but how will you feel about that?'"

Speaking at the time of the last refusal, the council said the applicants "uncertain and contradictory" proposal failed to ensure the "holistic" development of the entire area.

A spokesperson said: "The proposals would surround the ancient woodlands in a wall of concrete".

The applicants said during the appeal there would be a 15m buffer between developed areas and ancient woodlands.