“ENOUGH is enough” according to a group of Alton residents who are fed up with the “eyesore” that they say is now the vacated Coors Sports Ground on Anstey Road.

Empty since the withdrawal from the site of Alton Town Football Club and Alton Social Bowls Club last November, the once well cared for sports ground is fast sinking into derelict wasteland with shabby, deteriorating buildings and broken fencing.

Left empty as it waits to be turned into another housing estate, in more recent months the site has been subject to fly-tipping with residents complaining of untold amounts of rubbish, including broken toilet basins, furniture and mattresses, and missing fence panels blown down in the wind.

Following concerned correspondence, site owner Molson Coors has now cleared the rubbish and erected metal security fencing to fill the gaps, with concrete blocks across the entrance in a bid to keep out fly-tippers, as well as squatters and travellers, but residents fear it is not enough.

In the process of being sold off for housing development, their fear is that this situation can only get worse. Residents have been told by Molson Coors that the company is hoping to have sold the site by the end of the year but, according to Anstey Residents’ Group chairman Tony Souter, the new owners will then have to go through the process of gaining full planning approval before building can start and that could be another year.

It has been a rocky road for Molson Coors since the decision to sell, leading to the overriding of a 1935 Deed of Covenant put in place to protect the sports ground from development, and the granting by East Hampshire planners of outline approval for the erection of up to 85 dwellings on the site.

Having fulfilled conditions of planning, needed to relocate and provide for facilities lost to football, bowls and tennis, Molson Coors is now on the home stretch but, having now pulled out of the brewery site, residents are questioning what sort of legacy the multi-billion dollar global commercial giant has left the town.

Commenting on the state of the former sports ground, a Molson Coors spokesman said: “We monitor the Anstey Road site on a regular basis to ensure the area is well kept, tidy and safe for members of the local community. We are currently sourcing a contractor to carry out improvement work on-site as soon as possible to ensure the site is restored to its usual high standard.

“Molson Coors takes residents’ complaints seriously, and we are aiming to meet with the residents’ association in the very near future to ensure local concerns are understood and addressed.”

n Alton residents will next week have one more chance to have their say on proposals for the redevelopment of the Molson Coors brewery site with the third in a series of three consultations. The final consultation will be held at Alton Assembly Rooms next Tuesday, May 24, from 5pm-8pm.

A development brief for the future of the site is being put together by a project delivery board made up of representatives from East Hampshire District Council, Alton Town Council, and Molson Coors.

While the first attempt, put forward in March, drew fierce criticism that the proposals resembled “a massive town centre housing development” which bore no resemblance to the ideas put forward by residents during the first public consultation, the hope is that this time the delivery board will have got it right.

On Tuesday, residents will be able to find out about progress to date and help to shape the vision for the site. The consultation will still be available online until May 30.