A LANDLORD has told councillors that the proposed expansion of his Petersfield business will be good for the town.

Simon Hawkins has defended his plans to build a two-storey extension to the back of his thriving Old Drum Inn.

He insists the application to a create a handful of guest bedrooms is valid as the bed-and-breakfast element of his business is booming.

The licensee was accused of over-developing the plot when the application was reviewed by Petersfield Town Council last Tuesday.

The extension was also labelled "out of scale, incompatible and unsympathetic to its surroundings" by a member of The Petersfield Society.

But while Mr Hawkins accepts that people are entitled to an opinion, he insists he's not being greedy and is helping to meet a need.

For full story, see this week's Petersfield Herald.