A PETITION opposing major plans to redevelop a former army base on the edge of Winchester has received more than 900 signatures.
Winchester City Council's Cabinet will discuss and decide whether to support the Bushfield Camp masterplan at its meeting on Wednesday June 21.
The petition, started by the Badger Farm and Oliver's Battery Residents Community Association, is asking the council to reject the proposal.
The developers envisage a business park on the previously built-up land as well potential hotel/student accommodation, shops, cafe, car parking and sports facilities and the conservation of the adjacent chalk downland.
Should the plans be approved, the developers aim to have an outline planning application submitted in September, decided in the winter with work starting on the site in 2025.
READ MORE: Bushfield Camp masterplan revealed for the first time
In the petition's introduction, it said: “We the undersigned are opposed to the current ‘Knowledge Park’ concept masterplan for Winchester’s Bushfield Camp.
“We have serious concerns with regard to: the pressure this proposal will place on our roads, including traffic volume, local parking and congestion, and as a consequence emergency service response; increased pressure to our infrastructure; damage to and increased demand of this unique environment; substantially reduced sense of space and the visual impact of this proposal from bordering areas and high points such as St Catherine’s Hill; the safety and wellbeing of the local community as a consequence of the added pressures and loss of an already valued space; a lack of sufficient accessible dialogue with the developer with a lack of vital, transparent and consistent information within its consultations to enable a properly informed response.”
Several people have been sharing their thoughts on the proposal via the petition's website.
Former city councillor Judith Martin said: “The site should never have been included in the Local Plan in the first place. The developers promise 2,500 jobs, in an area with virtually no unemployment, and say nothing about the 1,000 or so extra houses that will require.”
SEE ALSO: Developer of Bushfield Camp pulls out of public meeting
Rupert Pitt said: “The proposals are wrong. We don’t need any more offices if that is still proposed, or more car parking spaces. With regards to offices stand by Jewry Street and High Street or St George’s Street there are seven vacant office spaces to let. We don’t need more car parking spaces. There could be a restaurant as there isn’t one near Badger Farm a grocery store to provide an alternative to Sainsburys. The rest should be affordable social council housing of the quality of Cromwell Road or Wavell Way and many green spaces. That is the real need.”
Susi Lemon said: “I have lived in Badger Farm for 36 years and Bushfield is our haven for walks, birds, butterflies and reptiles. Please don’t overdevelop it with huge unnecessary buildings.”
Support for the masterplan will be decided at the Cabinet meeting on Wednesday June 21.
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