MORE than 250 people have signed a petition calling on a housing association not to build homes on an ancient Iron Age fort in Basingstoke.

As previously reported in the Gazette, Vivid Homes has made public its plans to develop the former Fort Hill School site in Winklebury, as part of a wider regeneration project for the area.

The proposals would see the now demolished Fort Hill School site, in Kenilworth Road, used for 60 to 80 new homes, a new pre-school facility and children’s play area.

The former playing field would become a new public open space, the ownership of which would be transferred from Hampshire County Council to Vivid Homes.

The petition, created by Councillor Andrew McCormick, calls on the CEO of the housing association not to build on the site at all, and says: “Winklebury is already getting 3,500 houses built to the west, any more houses will add to the already expected congestion.

“The plans show three-storey flats which is an overdevelopment not in keeping with the area. The Iron Age fort is a national treasure and should be treated with respect.”

Cllr McCormick, leader of the Labour group, told the Gazette he has numerous objections to the plans, including the new three-storey development overlooking neighbouring properties and the loss of independent retailers in the Winklebury Centre, which would also be re-developed.

He added: “A much better option would be to have a larger surgery like Crown Heights or Gillies on the Fort Hill site serving all of Winklebury and Manydown. This would eventually be around 6,000 homes.”

He raised questions about whether the proposed doctors’ surgery for the area will be big enough, adding: “We have seen many similar sized surgeries disappear in Basingstoke or merge/move to larger premises…a small surgery would end up merging and we’d have a repeat of what’s happened already at the Winklebury Centre where the surgery merged with Bermuda and ended up being open one day a week.”

Alex Lee, a prospective Labour Party candidate for Winklebury and Manydown, said residents are not being listened to with regards to the proposals, explaining: “It is clear that the natural heritage of the site is not being respected by this development. The boundary of this Iron Age fort should be respected and treated as something that makes this community unique not torn through to provide access.”

He described the plans as “not fit for the future”, adding: “An increase of 60 to 80 homes would, at minimum, see around 120 extra vehicles negotiating a road that is already suffering from parking and access issues.”

Mr Lee said the community agrees that the area needs to be redeveloped, adding: “Buildings are dilapidated and a number of residents commented that the area was an eyesore.”

However, he said the current plans were not right, and said: “With the development of Manydown in the pipeline it is imperative that this regeneration is done in a way that doesn’t negatively impact the current residents.”

Vivid has been asked for a comment.