Most of the settlements in Micheldever parish grew in their diverse ways to suit the needs of the agricultural population of times past, but Micheldever Station only came into existence to serve the railway station following its construction in 1840. The countryside in which the villages sit, together with the narrow meandering hedge-lined lanes connecting the settlements, are possibly the only common feature. All the settlements lie in their own shallow valleys or between ridgelines, and are visually hidden from each other, and from passing traffic.
Micheldever village, including Northbrook, is constructed in a winding linear format. Four short culs-de-sac have been built off Church Street, Duke Street and Winchester Road. The core of the village is a Conservation Area, There are few paved footways. Most plot sizes are generous, and properties are usually bordered with hedges or rustic fencing. There are five entrance roads to the village, with four of these being narrow and hedge-lined. The fifth enters through an area of common land that is an impressive avenue with wide grass verges. Footpaths and bridleways circle the village. There are two large open spaces for sporting activities. Villagers enjoy the benefits of a church, shop, primary school, village hall and public house. Almost 50% of the parish housing is located in Micheldever village.
Micheldever Station is also established in linear format with three principal roads and two culs-de-sac. Housing generally lies on one side only of the principal roads from one of which, Overton Road, there are particularly impressive views to the ancient woodland of Black Wood. There is a main-line (London to Southampton) railway station with a disused marshalling yard and fuel depot facility (both now virtually disused), a public house, a sports ground and a community centre. A new and mixed housing development was built at "Mill Place". A substantial proportion of the commercial activity of the parish is undertaken at Micheldever Station and the settlement accounts for almost 25% of the parish housing.
East Stratton's settlement pattern is a north/south linear format with houses either side of a wide village road. Almost all the properties are contained within the Conservation Area, and most properties have views over adjoining countryside. Hedges and trees line the three roads into the village with footpaths and bridleways radiating out. To the south lies Micheldever Forest and to the north is Embley Wood. East Stratton has a church, a public house and a new village hall of which it is rightly proud following huge fund raising efforts by the local community strongly supported by the Parish Council and local councillors. The village contains almost 20% of the housing in the parish.
West Stratton is an agricultural hamlet of about twenty houses grouped in West Stratton Lane and around Park Hill Farm, which is separated from East Stratton by the A33 and the M3. It is about one mile north-east of Micheldever on the northern bank of the River Dever, and is surrounded by arable farmland and pasture.
Weston Colley is another hamlet of about twenty houses, located to the west of Micheldever and separated from it by the railway embankment. The hamlet runs east/west along the northern bank of the River Dever in a linear format. From the settlement there are fine open views across rolling arable countryside to the north and south, and also to the west, along the Dever Valley.
Woodmancott village centre has only fifteen houses, a church and a small commercial/industrial complex, plus a farm grain store and weighbridge. A further fifteen houses border the A33 at Innersdown and Bradley Farm, separated from the village by the M3 and A33. The village is within a mixed arable farming landscape.
| SP1 | the linear format of the villages should be maintained |
| SP2 | the gaps between settlements should be maintained |
| SP3 | the lanes connecting settlements should be conserved with their existing rural character and should not be provided with inappropriate urban-style kerbing and street lighting |
| SP4 | the relationship of buildings to the spaces they occupy should be maintained |
| SP5 | walls, hedges, woodlands and mature trees, should be conserved (if lost naturally or by development of adjoining land they should be replaced) |
| SP6 | existing verges, bridleways and footpaths should be retained in any new development |
| SP7 | paved footways, if installed, should be edged with "countryside" kerbing |
| SP8 | street furniture, fingerpost direction signs and road/lane hard landscaping should be consistent throughout the villages and be designed for their rural context, not standardised solutions used in urban areas |
| SP9 | new development should not result in roads being widened or straightened |
| SP10 | commercial or light industrial development should take account of the character of the residential community within which it will be set |