People living near one of Bath's empty MoD sites are being encouraged to help plan the area's future.
This weekend residents of the Foxhill estate are being invited to a public meeting to discuss ideas of how to regenerate the area.
The meeting is being organised by Foxhill Futures – a community-based group recently established to help give those living in the estate a say on its future.
The group has been formed because of the sale of the adjacent Foxhill MoD site, which has been put on the market along with land at Warminster Road and Ensleigh, as civil servants relocate to Bristol.
Foxhill Futures, which is led by Foxhill resident Nigel Dann, says the sale of the 47-acre site is an opportunity for sustainable regeneration in an area of Bath that has been hard hit by the recession.
He said there was a real risk that if the existing Foxhill population was not included in the redevelopment of the area, there could be further isolation and division.
Mr Dann said: "Local people should be aware that substantial change to the neighbourhood is coming. We need to come together in order to develop a strong voice to ensure that the MoD redevelopment delivers what we need in the area. Potentially communities have never had as strong an influence on development as they have now, but only if they effectively make their views known. This meeting is a vital opportunity to voice what we need: I urge you to attend."
Mr Dann added the aim of the meeting was to write a neighbourhood plan in order to achieve maximum improvement and investment for the existing area. Foxhill Futures also wants to establish a community regeneration board to help with the process. The group has been awarded £9,500 by the Design Council to complete the plan.
Bath and North East Somerset Council has created a concept statement for the Foxhill MoD site to use as a framework with potential developers. The statement, which emphasises a desire for up to 700 homes, employment space, a new primary school, a health care facility and open spaces, excludes the existing Foxhill estate.
The meeting is on Saturday between 11am and 2pm in the St Andrews Community Centre in Hawthorn Grove.
