THE ambition of a new £250 million military training college in Worthy Down can be seen for the first time after detailed plans were revealed on Wednesday (September 3).

Plans for the 77,000 square metre Defence College of Logistics, Policing and Administration in Worthy Down camp include state-of-the-art training facilities, dormitories, offices and a medical centre.

Students from the Army, Royal Navy and RAF will all train at the college, more than doubling the number of forces personnel on site from 750 to 2,000. The plans include 92 new homes for military families.

The college is expected to be a hub for catering, human resources and military transport and will also house dental facilities, hotel-style rooms for families, a memorial garden and a museum displaying items from all three forces.

Residents who came to see the plans in South Wonston were widely supportive.

“It’s absolutely fabulous”, said Tom Simpson, of Downlands Way. “They’re not encroaching on any new land, they’re building on what they’ve got.

“My house looks over the fields Worthy Down - it’s a spectacular view. I didn’t want them to encroach on that, but they haven’t.”

Hugh Elmhirst-Booker, of Wrights Way, said: “It looks pretty good – it seems they’re trying to keep the buildings down. It looks a quite reasonable space for the soldiers as well.”

The 77,000 square-metre site, built with carbon efficiency in mind, will be bordered by a 10 metre buffer of trees, with foliage maintained throughout the campus.

Construction begins this month, with RAF and Royal Navy students moving in from 2016 and work expected to finish in late 2018.

Local councillor Malcolm Wright said: “I’m all for it. The only thing that was disappointing was that we were hoping to get a cycle path down through there and through the farmer’s fields into Winchester, but apparently that was not possible.

“Most of the people will be teachers and instructors who will move in from outside, so I don’t think there will be any impact locally.”

City council planners approved the project last year after several setbacks over recreation space, traffic and school places. South Wonston Parish Council eventually defeated the MoD on provision for recreation ground.