WINKLEBURY residents have said they have been left in the dark about the future of former secondary school site.

The Fort Hill Community School site, in Kenilworth Road has been closed since the end of the academic year.

The decision was made by Hampshire County Council to close the school due to the lack of pupils which had applied for the coming academic year.

Since its closure, the fate of the site has been unclear, with many members of the community, including the wards two councillors wanting it to remain in community use.

However, as previously reported in The Gazette for the building to be kept in community use is believing to not be feasible, owing to the age and condition of the buildings and high ongoing maintenance and running costs of the site.

Now, residents are concerned that the site will just be used for housing, and the county council has put out a tender for the potential demolition of the building.

Andrew Jennings, a Winklebury resident, said: “We haven’t been told absolutely nothing.

“There has been a security fence put up at the site and it looks a bit like Fort Knox, which is a bit of an eyesore.

“We have this big regeneration project going on in Winklebury, yet the Fort Hill site is not being talked about.”

He added: “We as a community want it kept as a community space, but the county council say that isn’t viable without any real reason.”

On the county council’s website there is a notice for tender of the removal of asbestos and demolition of Fort Hill.

A statement on the website reads: “Hampshire County Council invites applications from suitably experienced organisations who wish to be considered for selection to tender for the works of Fort Hill Community School - asbestos removal and demolition.

“The contract will commence on October 12 and will be for a period of four months.”

As previously reported in The Gazette the county council said that the Fort Hill site is a key component of the Winklebury regeneration project and was looking as suitable uses of the site.

One option the county council is exploring is to demolish the buildings, in order to pave the way for alternative use of the site.

The site is a protected Scheduled Ancient Monument however, and any future proposals will need to respect this status.

Proposals for the future use of the site will be developed over the coming months and all stakeholders will have the chance to contribute their views on these proposals, as they emerge.

A meeting is due to be held at the Wellington Social Club, in Elmwood Way on September 6 at 7pm for residents to air their views.

The county council were approached for a comment but did not respond by the time The Gazette went to print.