BRYANT Homes is heading back to Basingstoke to develop a new community on the old Park Prewett hospital site.

The developer has a long association with the town and was the first to open a showhouse complex on Hatch Warren when the suburb started to get under way 20 years ago.

Now it is working with English Partnerships, the national regeneration agency which owns the Park Prewett site, and has the licence to play a major role in bringing more than 1,000 new eco-friendly apartments and houses to the market.

A major launch will be staged at the on-site marketing suite during November 18 and 19, when potential buyers will be able to view the plans, and prices will be released preChristmas.

Plans for the 53-acre site, named Limes Park, involve the refurbishment of the Victorian hospital, while the newbuild will give a range of properties from twobedroomed apartments through to two, three, four and fivebedroomed houses.

Lorraine Williamson, regional sales manager for new homes for the Halifax, which is marketing the development, said: "We hope the open weekend will be of interest to people because this is an exciting new scheme for Basingstoke, which is designed to create a whole new community that will contribute to the future prosperity of the town.

"We believe it will appeal to local buyers and attract others from out of the region, which could have the spinoff of bringing new businesses into the town and creating huge employment opportunities."

The properties are designed to suit firsttime buyers through to families, and details of ecofriendly specifications to address green issues will be released at a later stage.

Work has already started on the fiveyear build schedule at Limes Park and the plan is to have the first showhouses open for viewing next spring.

The first residents are expected to be able to move in around late spring and early summer next year, with the developer aiming for 116 properties to be sold and completed during the course of 2007.

Bryant Homes was responsible for the popular Gabriel Park development in Kempshott and, more recently, Cliddesden Reach at Kempshott Park.

Limes Park brings the company back to town in a short space of time, having only completed a development in Chineham as recently as June.