THIS is the first look at the huge housing estate which could replace Hampshire's ageing police headquarters in Winchester.

Plans for 200 homes on the force's West Hill base in Romsey Road will be shown to residents at a public consultation tonight.

The estate will provide much-needed affordable housing near the city centre if plans are approved.

Hampshire Constabulary has branded the 1960s base inefficient and unfit for purpose and will next year relocate staff to nearby Mottisfont Court and Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service's headquarters in Eastleigh.

Permission was granted in 2007 to demolish the old tower block, in Romsey Road, and build a dense complex of 294 flats, but developer Berkeley Homes has cut this number by almost a third to allow for bigger family houses.

The plans currently include 184 one, two and three-bedroom flats and 14 houses of up to five bedrooms.

Development director David Gilchrist said the numbers have not been finalised as the project is still in its design phase.

Eighty of the new homes will be at affordable rates, he added, with contributions to local infrastructure set to be negotiated with civic chiefs in the next few months.

Affordable housing is a hot topic in the city, with high house prices pushing families on low incomes out of the city centre and major projects, such as the controversial Silver Hill scheme, dropping cut-rate homes entirely.

Mr Gilchrist added that he “wouldn't have any problem” with paying £735,000 towards roadworks, public space, footpaths and a playground, as civic chiefs demanded in the site's original planning permission in 2007.

“We're hoping that people will like it,” he said. “We're trying to put a good quality development in there. We will be removing the existing building, which I imagine quite a lot of people will be pleased about.”

Tonight's exhibition runs from 5pm-8pm in St Paul's Hill Church, Winchester. A second event including a question and answer session takes place on Saturday from 12.30pm-2.30pm.