PLANS to demolish a piece of Winchester Victorian heritage is drawing opposition.

Developer Kevan Netherwood wants to knock down Prospect House, off Magdalen Hill, and build four homes.

The house was once the station master’s house for the Winchester Chesil station that served the Newbury to Southampton railway until the 1960s.

The developers says it will make “better use of an under utilised site and create more residential dwellings in a sustainable location.”

The city council, after enquiries by the Chronicle, revealed Prospect House was sold on the open market by the council in 2018 for £646,000, well above its initial valuation.

A spokesman said: “Our policy is to dispose of very high value council property when they become vacant and Prospect House was not considered suitable for use as affordable housing. The money from the sale will be used to directly fund new council-built homes on other council-owned land, replacing one property with at least three family homes.”

Judith Martin, of Romsey Road, was unhappy that the application did not mention the demolition: “The first point of objection is simply to say that an application for demolition should actually include the word demolition. An application that involves the total loss of a building should be honest and open (as should every other application).

“The proposed houses themselves are not unattractive but will do nothing to provide for the real need in Winchester, which is for genuinely affordable housing. On the basis of this flawed and inaccurate application, I hope they will be rejected.”

Kevin Robertson, of Upper Lambourn, Hungerford, told the council: “The history of this dwelling should not be discounted. It remains one of the few remaining properties associated with the Didcot, Newbury & Southampton Railway and until 1951 served as the house for the resident Station Master.

“Winchester is justifiably proud of its heritage and so it might be, but that heritage should not based purely on the Cathedral, Westgate and the like, heritage encompasses much more: the site of a former business, trade or service provider and I would respectfully suggest it is this association that is now under threat. In recent times Winchester has successfully retained buildings from its past often converting these into new uses to suit the modern day. If no longer required for residential use this is what the future of Prospect House should be - not to be demolished as part of ‘yesterday’ rather be preserved and adapted for the 21st century.”