OUTLINE plans for the potential redevelopment of a sensitive site in Alton were unveiled last week to provide immediate neighbours with a preview of how it might look. The thinly-publicised public exhibition showed how it is proposed to combine the Whitedown Special School site in Albert Road with the adjacent Hampshire Ambulance Station site to make way for a high-quality housing development. But while the proposal has been welcomed by some as positive progress, others are saddened by the loss to Alton of yet more community facilities. It is not all bad news - Hampshire Ambulance Trust has stated that it is looking for another station site in Alton, and the school is moving to larger, purpose-built premises, albeit it in Bordon. But the proposed 28-unit development would represent a significant change, especially for residents living in the Whitedown area of town. For the past 40 years the majority of the 0.578 hectare (1.43 acre) site has been occupied by Whitedown Special School - a school the town has taken firmly under its wing and which has become an integral part of the local community. Just 10 years ago the people of Alton dug deep into their pockets to help raise money for a multi-million pound hydrotherapy pool, which has since been used by local people for therapy sessions, some referred by the North Hampshire Primary Care Trust (PCT). But Whitedown School is to close at the end of the summer term, with pupils being transferred to the newly-constructed Hollywater School in Bordon from September. The new special school will provide educational facilities for 120 children aged between two and 19 years with special educational needs. Once finished it will boast some exceptional facilities, among them a new outdoor dining space next to the dining hall, a dedicated reception-age play area and sensory garden, a lower and an upper years play area, a library garden and seating area and a winter garden. The hydrotherapy pool at Whitedown will be replaced by a new pool at the Hollywater School, and current users have been given the option to use the new pool at the normal hiring rate. But, local people say, it could present difficulties for Alton residents having to make the 22-mile round trip to Bordon. Ward councillor Allan Chick said he was saddened to hear of the loss of yet another local health facility. "I can't see people from Alton, especially if they are elderly, travelling to Bordon," said MR Chick. "It is sad because the pool cost so much and a large number of local people invested in it." As a former user of the pool, Alton Arthritis Club chairman Terry McGilvray was of the same opinion. "Although it proved too expensive for many of our members to use, it does mean that people in Alton are losing out again," said Mr McGilvray who, having worked for 28 years at the former Treloar Hospital, can recall the loss of the well-used hospital hydrotherapy pool to the bulldozers. Equally worrying is the potential loss of Hampshire Ambulance station. Last year union leaders and front-line workers were up in arms after Hampshire Ambulance Trust decided to axe its Alton station. News of the closure sparked fears that people in rural areas around Alton and Bordon would have to wait longer for ambulances to arrive in the event of an emergency. Nonetheless, the trust board agreed to close 19 stations across Hampshire and replace them with three "superstations" in the centre of high-demand areas at Southampton, Basingstoke and Portsmouth. The "hub and spoke" system was to be supported by a number of strategic points where vehicles would wait on standby. Part of the thinking was that current facilities were beginning to show signs of deterioration and trust managers argued that large investment would be needed to bring stations like Alton up to standard. The idea was to raise around £10 million from the sale of the local stations to help fund the new depots. Having looked at call profiles, Hampshire Ambulance Trust has now revised its decision and decided to look for an alternative site in the Alton area, with a building high enough to take the new ambulance vehicles which cannot get into the current station. In a statement this week, an ambulance trust spokesman confirmed: "The estates strategy is progressing forward as planned. We have been looking at potential satellite station locations in the Bordon and Alton areas. However, having looked at call profiles, we are now actively looking for a potential new site in the Alton area." However, she warned: "It is possible that when the trust board of the new South Central Ambulance Service comes into being, we may need to reassess the estates strategy, but in the meantime we are progressing as planned." It has been further confirmed that any movement to a new site in the Alton area could take up to 12 months to come to fruition. In the meantime, proposals have been drawn up to combine the 0.17 hectare ambulance site with Hampshire County Council's 0.408 hectare Whitedown School site to provide a residential development to include an element of mixed-tenure, affordable, keyworker and private housing, incorporating various dwelling sizes and designs. The proposed development would look at a density of between 40 and 50 dwellings to the hectare with access onto Albert Road. Money raised from the sale of the HCC site is to be used as part funding for the new Hollywater School, while money from the Hampshire Ambulance Trust site is expected to be ploughed into the new "superstation" system.
