RESIDENTS in a Winchester suburb are furious at plans for a major student development.

Plans have been drawn up for 91 self-contained flats on the corner of Sparkford Road and Erskine Road, close to the main King Alfred campus.

Residents fear that it will create an eyesore, cause parking issues and say they fearful of the impact of anti-social behaviour.

Unilife who are behind the plans, say they understand residents concerns but claim because of the students they are targetting the noise and bad student behaviour is unlikely to be a problem.

They have also argued that a development of this kind eases pressure on homes in multiple occupation (HMO) in Winchester.

Dozens of residents gathered on Tuesday to see the plans first-hand at a consultation.

Kelly White of Erskine Road said: "We are concerned for our children - this is getting worse here. With this there is going to be 90 odd more people in that area. We all want to move out. It is a lovely area without the students."

Elizabeth Thorn, of Airlie Lane, said: "I don't like the design or the flat roof, it is not practical. We also have problems with noise on Cromwell Road already, with student parties sometimes until 4am."

Vocal residents against the plans have set up a Facebook Group and also launched a petition, which has been signed by 22 people so far.

A planning application for the scheme has not yet been launched.

Paul Brundell from Unilife said: "It's been a positive day. There has been a lot of tweaking and shrinking already of the development, we are retaining the trees, looking to plant an additional 17 trees.

"We are looking to take on comments and if we do have to put the brakes on we can. We are putting in CCTV and working with local police to combat anti-social behaviour.

"We are generally targeting international students and postgraduates who want to study and a studio rather than cluster accommodation. We are also setting up at 24/7 number for local residents."

The news comes after the Hampshire Chronicle reported how developer Williams Ewan is preparing to launch a scheme for 600 units at nearby Milnthorpe Lane, despite opposition from residents in the area.

The University said that they have nothing to do with the schemes. A spokesperson said:“Neither of these schemes have anything to with the University of Winchester, we have not been involved or engaged in their development at all.

"We have really good links with our neighbours and we would hope that the developers will engage with us and other neighbours, as we do with our own developments.”