A PLAN to build 536 homes at Farnborough Business Park has stunned residents living near the site.
They thought, when they bought their homes, that the 12-acre piece of land had been reserved for low level office development.
Now they face the prospect of their homes being put in the shade by large four or five-storey apartment blocks.
The residents also fear the scheme by developers Redrow, would result in traffic chaos in their quiet roads and cul-de-sacs.
One of them, James Newport, of Pinehurst Cottages off Pinehurst Road, said on Tuesday: “We moved in last August, and there was nothing on the searches to suggest this land was going to be used for housing.
“The site is to the left of us and we fear these apartments will dominate our terraced houses.”
The first he and his wife Alice knew about the scheme was when a Redrow leaflet dropped through their letterbox on Wednesday last week.
Three days later they received a letter from Rushmoor Council giving them until next Friday, April 14, to comment.
“It’s come as a shock to learn that more than a 1,000 people could soon be living on our doorstep,” said Mr Newport, an animator.
The land earmarked for the scheme is a small part of the former Royal Aircraft Establishment site bought by Slough Estates in 1999.
Basingstoke-based Redrow has purchased the 12-acre slice which lies alongside the park’s heritage centre and two Grade I
listed wind tunnels, one of which was used to test Concorde. Both are being restored. The land includes two unlisted buildings which the company hopes to convert into a total of 85 apartments.
One of the buildings is thought to be the laboratory where carbon fibre was invented.
The remainder of the 451 homes would be in nine new apartment buildings varying in height from four to five storeys.
Main vehicle access would be via North Gate from the A325 Farnborough Road.
Graeme Steer, Slough Estates development manager, said: “The location of a residential site such as this, next to both the town centre and the business park, is unique.”
Rushmoor Council planning chief Keith Holland, said they had been discussing the blueprint with Slough Estates for “some while”. He said the scheme met Government guidelines for brownfield sites. “But there is still some way to go,” said Mr Holland.
One stumbling block could involve new European laws governing the building of homes near special protected wildlife areas.