RESIDENTS and councillors are up in arms over plans submitted to turn a group of office buildings into homes because of a loss of privacy, noise and more traffic added to Winklebury.
The site of Ashwood Way, located in Winklebury, currently consists of three office blocks and would be transformed into 133 homes if approved by the council.
Out of the 133 flats, 102 of them would be one bed homes and 31 would be two bed homes.
But twelve residents have come forward and said they would be impacted by the new build, as it would mean a loss of privacy, extra traffic going in and out of their homes and noise throughout the night in Hazelwood Close.
A concerned mother-of-four, Helen Mizen, 39, of Hazelwood Close, told The Gazette: “I don’t want to open my bedroom windows and see a large block of flats, which is 20 metres from my door.
“My teenage daughter’s window backs directly onto the property development.
“Once all the leaves go, we are completely exposed, and people will be able to look in.
“I am massively worried about the noise, as industrial work could be going on late into the night.”
Another resident, Teresa Cresswell, 68, of Hazelwood Close, was also worried about privacy, and said: “I’ve lived here 26 years and never had to bother about my curtains but when the leaves go, I will have to draw my curtains in the day time.
“People will be able to see straight through the houses.
“You get the odd car moving out of the drive, but the children have grown up with not many cars around here, and with the new development there will be more traffic.
“Having more people living that close and not knowing who they are would make me feel insecure.”
Winklebury ward councillor, Angie Freeman, said she will be taking her objections to the development control committee at Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council.
Speaking about her concerns for the community, she said: “The houses will be crammed in and it will be too small a space for too many people.
“I am concerned we do not have enough community facilities to support the residents.
“Winklebury doctor’s surgery operates only one afternoon a week; there is only one nurse practitioner there.”
The councillor has no other option but to travel all the way to Popley, which is three miles away and two bus journeys into town to see a doctor.
She believes that access in and out of the site is not safe for children, with people driving at “silly speeds”.
“Given the number of houses they will build in Winklebury, 3,500 houses up in Manydown, flats in Fort Hill, more houses would be unnecessary,” she added.
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