CAMPAIGNERS are urging councillors not to declare open house for developers at a Gosport landmark.

Fort Gilkicker has been left adrift by planners since a joint venture by Hampshire County Council and the Phoenix Trust, a specialist in developing heritage sites, collapsed last year.

Plans to build housing along with public attractions were put on hold after Phoenix pulled out of the partnership.

Those plans were strongly opposed by people living nearby led by the Fort Gilkicker Action Group, whose members said the fort should be preserved and not developed.

But campaigners are concerned the historic fort could be left open to developers under the new plan due to be discussed at a behind-closed-doors Hampshire County Council meeting tomorrow.

Group chairman Don Gordon said: "We are concerned that the whole project has become rather dormant since Phoenix pulled out and if they can't make a project like that work I don't know who can. But the development that the local plan could mean the site is earmarked for housing development is a concern. It is a question of watching to see what happens next."

Gosport council Conservative group leader Peter Edgar, who backed the Phoenix bid, said action was needed to ensure the fort was preserved, but not at the expense of additional housing. He said: "The previous plan was the right mix of use because it had a limited amount of housing combined with a museum and allowing public access to viewing platforms and the fort itself.

"We do not want an over intensification of the site and we wouldn't want more housing to be allowed under the local plan. What we certainly don't want is for nothing to happen and the fort be left to rot. We need to preserve it."