NEIGHBOURS are starting to object to Winchester College proposal for new boarding houses and development on a playing field.

The boarding school is admitting girls and wants to construct two new houses on tennis courts off St Cross Road.

The plan also includes converting Antrim House, the school medical centre, into staff accommodation, removal of an all-weather playing pitch and the laying of a new pitch with artificial grass at Kingsgate Park.

A historical brick and flint wall on St Cross Road would have two long holes knocked through to allow vehicle access.

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Now more than a month after the plans were submitted, neighbours are beginning to object and 11 have been received by the city council.

One objector said the college was "taking liberties" with its scheme.

Others have pointed out that the plan for access off St Cross Road comes after other similar proposals from houses on the road have been rejected.

Dr Rebecca Farmer, of Norman Road, told the council:  “The College has a poor record of engaging with residents of neighbouring properties. Residents were not notified that an application had been made."

Elizabeth Braakenburg Dyce, of St Cross Road, wrote: “This is a considerable development that will have a detrimental effect on its neighbours both during construction and long term. We have had three years of noise and light pollution during the construction of the (college) sports centre."

Hampshire Chronicle:

The proposed building seen from St Cross Road

Martin Blockley, of Norman Road, said: “Once again Winchester College are taking liberties and upsetting local residents for whom they show little or no respect. We in Norman Road have already endured four years of noise, vibration, dust, thousands of heavy duty trucks and vans, and now the inconveniences are set to continue in yet another area of St. Cross. Enough is surely enough.”

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Patrick Heneghan, of St Cross Road, said: “The size and scale of this project is inappropriate and excessive. Kingsgate Park is within the Winchester Conservation Area…Worthy of note is the fact that a previous planning application for the opening of vehicle access onto St Cross Road from our property was denied.”

Jan Davis, of Edgar Road, said: “This proposed development is in a conservation area which if built will destroy the area's special characteristics. Of special note are the majestic old trees along this stretch of road. This vista of trees with the historic flint wall enhance the beauty of the area. My understanding is that the proposed development will affect both the trees and the old flint wall. A very large deciduous tree (we were told at the event put on by Winchester college last year) is proposed to be felled. Destruction of parts of the old flint wall to create two access points for entry and exit along St Cross Road, is also proposed.”

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Lucy Lindesay, of St Cross Road, said: “The size and nature of the proposed development, makes a mockery of the purpose of a Conservation Area and it will play havoc with the traffic on St Cross Road, which is a very busy County Distributor Road. Nobody in the past has been allowed to create a new access onto St Cross Road, so why should there now be a policy change?”

Patrick Morton, of Edgar Road, said: “How can the building of two three-storey Boarding Houses and a very large all-weather sports pitch possibly be said to preserve or enhance the area?”

The boarding houses are needed for the private school to accept girl boarders from 2024. Day girls were admitted in September. The two houses would accommodate 60 boarders each and 20 day pupils.

The application also includes a warning of the possible felling of a mature oak tree on Kingsgate Park. The college says it will be planting many trees.

The new development would be very close to the sports centre also being built by Kingsgate Park which is due for completion this year.

The college says the development is vital to its long-term future: "In order to be able to continue to contribute to the cultural, social, economic and environmental wellbeing of the city, the College needs to retain its position as a leading educational establishment, that has adapted to meets the needs of pupils in the future. Without investment in new buildings and other facilities, the College’s prestige and its ability to maintain its existing land and buildings to the current high standards is vulnerable."