THE HISTORIC Fort Southwick is a step closer to becoming a bible college after planning permission was granted for the project.

All that stands in the way of the 'Christ for the Nations' attempt to convert the fort into a bible training centre is a sealed bid auction next month.

Winchester City Council has just approved provisional plans for the specialised college that also include proposals for a heritage museum documenting the part the fort has played throughout history.

A Christ for the Nations spokesman said: "The fort is just what we are looking for and we are pleased that the plans have been approved by Winchester.

"We submitted them in advance of the sealed bid so that if we were successful we could get the ball rolling quickly. But it is good news so far."

The Ministry of Defence told the Daily Echo earlier this year that it planned to sell off the Portsdown Hill fort to the highest bidder.

They said they had no further use for the site that has been left vacant for several years.

A spokesman for Defence Estates, who manage the site for the MoD, told the Daily Echo that it planned to release Fort Southwick for sale shortly with a sealed bid auction expected to be held next month.

Hampshire County Council has already ruled itself out of the running to purchase the fort despite previously suggesting it would in an effort to preserve it when the MoD put the site on the market.

The council confirmed that purchasing the fort had become impossible, given recent budget cutbacks, and therefore the county would not be expressing an interest.

However, The Christ for the Nations organisation which already has a college based at Eastbourne, East Sussex, is keen to branch out along the south coast.

Their bid includes plans to convert the site - subject to a successful bid - into a centre dedicated to the study of theology.

The proposal also includes plans for a heritage museum on site to showcase the history of the fort that is one of four along the top of Portsdown Hill.