ANGRY residents voiced their concerns over plans for a new hospital in North Waltham at a meeting last week.

As previously reported by The Gazette, Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (HHFT) is proposing to build a £150million hospital at Ganderdown Copse, off the A30 near junction 7 of the M3.

If approved, the hospital will be built alongside a new £18.5m cancer treatment centre.

Following the submission of a planning application on April 13, the North Waltham Action Group (NWAG), which was set up to campaign against the proposals, held a public meeting last Wednesday.

The meeting saw 80 North Waltham residents and councillors from Winchester come together to discuss their concerns.

Christine Rowley, NWAG member, told The Gazette: “Most people were concerned about how this has been pushed and no other site has been put forward or consulted on.

“If this was to go through the Local Plan process, other sites, and brownfield sites, would have been discussed. Normally with planning applications, they would say these sites were considered but it is just this one site considered.

“The other major concern is the traffic generated up to junction 7 because we have heard that Hounsome Fields in is the Local Plan for housing and with all the development this side of Basingstoke, how is it going to affect traffic?”

Mrs Rowley, who is 53, added: “At the one consultation meeting they held they specifically said the building would be low-level but it has turned out to be six stories and you are never going to be able to bury that at the top of the hill.”

Mary Edwards, chief executive at HHFT, said: “We must change with the times. Medicine is constantly evolving and our patients needs and expectations are increasing.

We believe a purposebuilt hospital to treat our sickest patients will improve services for these patient’s, as well as enabling us to develop our services at our existing hospitals where the majority of our patients will continue to be treated.”

Mrs Edwards added: “Transport and landscaping is a concern for local residents. If plans progress, we look forward to hearing and responding to the wider publics’ views when NHS England conduct the formal public consultation later in the year.”

NWAG is asking residents to comment on the planning application.

A meeting of the West Hampshire Clinical Commissioning Group to discuss the application will be held on May 13.