People in Corsham are being offered the chance to view and comment on early plans for redeveloping the Defence Communication Services Basil Hill site in the town.

Members of the public interested in finding about more about the proposals are invited to visit a public exhibition which will be held on Thursday 29 March from 2 to 7pm at Corsham Town Hall.

The plans have been drawn up on behalf of the MOD by Inteq, a consortium of John Laing plc and Interserve, which was appointed as the preferred bidder for the project last year. The Inteq project team will be on hand at the exhibition to talk through the proposals with the local community.

The scheme is part of the MoD's wider Corsham Development Project, which will see personnel, currently spread across a number of sites, brought together onto one facility at Basil Hill. The exhibition will show plans for an exciting development on the Basil Hill site with new high quality buildings that will be designed and built to meet the highest standards of energy efficiency and sustainability.

The Masterplan features 1,850 work-spaces within some 24,000 m2 of new offices, as well as improved living quarters for service personnel, mess and sports amenities and a nursery. Dilapidated buildings will be demolished to make way for new purpose built facilities whilst key buildings of historic or architectural interest will be retained and refurbished.

An enhanced landscape setting is being designed with due regard for existing wildlife and ecology on the site.

The Masterplan proposals will form part of a formal planning application, which is expected to be submitted to North Wiltshire District Council in late Spring.

Once the application has been submitted, the local community will have an opportunity to comment further on the proposals as part of the formal planning process.

DCSA Chief Executive Rear Admiral Rees Ward said: "I am delighted that local people will have the opportunity to view these plans - the MoD is an intrinsic part of the community here in Corsham and we greatly welcome this chance to share our future vision for the Basil Hill site."

David Hardy, Managing Director of the Social Infrastructure Division of John Laing said: "We are delighted to be partnering with the MoD to re-develop the DCSA's Basil Hill complex in Corsham. We are extremely proud to be sharing our proposals for this exciting project with the local community today."