A PETITION against the major development of a former army base has almost reached 1,500 signatures.

The campaign, started by the Badger Farm and Oliver's Battery Residents Community Association, is asking Winchester City Council to reject the proposal for Bushfield Camp.

On Sunday, August 20, it had 1,448 signatures. 

The proposed development includes student accommodation, a hotel, a business park providing up to 2,500 jobs and conservation of the chalk downland.

The developers aim to have an outline planning application submitted in September, decided in the winter with work starting on the site in 2025.

In the petition's introduction, it said: “We the undersigned are opposed to the current ‘Knowledge Park’ concept masterplan for Winchester’s Bushfield Camp.

READ MORE: Bushfield Camp: Residents turn out in force to question developers

“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.

Anne Church said: “I want to prevent this unnecessary development, when we already have empty shop space in the town centre and the huge increase in traffic on this side of Winchester where the infrastructure already is inadequate.”

Andrew Harris said: “I recently revisited the area of Whiteshute and Bushfield and was staggered at the beauty of the chalk downland on my doorstep. I now live on Badger Farm but had not been back to this area for about 50 years. I would urge you all to walk around this fantastic area to understand why the whole area should be saved from this and any further development. Please keep in mind, when it’s gone, it’s gone forever. Please do all you can to stop this development.”

Julie Pearson said: “There is no need for more light industrial units which only leads to more traffic problems. It will be a blight on the beautiful landscape. What about social housing, plant more trees, build solar panels farm to provide cheaper power for our area? Anything to help with actual real world problems rather than just a money-making scheme.”

For more details about the scheme, visit: bushfieldcampregeneration.co.uk.