Big trouble in Little London: Tiny Hampshire village that's being overrun by ... trends now

Its name is thought to derive from when Londoners were fleeing the capital for the Hampshire countryside during the Great Plague in the 17th century.

But more than 350 years later, residents of Little London have hit out at 'greedy' developers amid fears they are being overrun by newcomers from… London.

Locals in the village near Basingstoke say wealthy people who are after a 'country pad' are buying expensive houses in the area that they cannot afford.

And they warned those looking to escape the city that there is 'nothing here' for them because the infrastructure will not cope with the number of residents.

Little London has just one pub, no shop or street lights, and hosts a population of only a few hundred – which could rise significantly if developers get their way.

Data from Zoopla shows the average sold price for a property in Little London last year was £981,050, in a year that had two sales. RightMove suggests the previous peak for local prices was 2013 when five properties sold for an average of £801,900.

Among those concerned for the village is Carol Donner, 65, who has lived there for 13 years. She said: 'We have got this sign that says 'Welcome to Little London'. 

'We were going to put a sign underneath it and say 'Twinned with Greater London'.'

The retired teacher said she and other villagers are now working together to stop the overdevelopment of Little London.

Mrs Donner said: 'There's quite a few of us that are getting together and we have met up and come up with ideas and things we need to do. 

'It's an ancient village, there's not many houses and it's got no infrastructure at all - we don't even have street lights. We have got nothing in the village at all and it's just being concreted over by people who are being greedy.

'They are coming from London because they want a country pad and they are just going to concrete over here'

Among the applications are plans for multiple houses, battery storage facilities and conversions of barns into business units and event venues.

Mrs Donner added: 'It's just ridiculous. It's not a village where you can buy affordable houses because there's no infrastructure, even if you thought you could build affordable houses, it's not the right place for them.

'It's greed over need and it's the wrong houses in the wrong place'

She continued: 'I looked at all the houses for sale within a two and a half mile radius and I stopped counting... 25 houses all over £700,000. I mean, who is going to buy those houses?

'It's a very stoic village because there's nothing here and it's not a place people move to. There's just nothing here for them, this is the whole point.