AS the Green Town development plan starts to take shape in Whitehill and Bordon, developer Barratt Homes, which is building the first homes at the former Louisburg Barracks, warned youngsters to stay away from the site.

With the school holidays well under way, a building site - with its machines, trucks and materials - may look like a fun and exciting place to play, but Barratt Homes, which has head offices in London and Leicestershire, is warning children that such a site poses serious dangers.

“Building sites are full of potential dangers and during the school summer holidays it is important to remind children and their parents of the need to stay away from them,” said construction director Jon Green.

“Youngsters are often on the lookout for somewhere new and exciting to play, but construction sites are not adventure playgrounds.

“While our construction teams watch out for youngsters during the day and we secure our sites at night, we also ask parents to make sure they know where their children are during the holiday time.”

There are no problems at night because Barratt has introduced a high level of security at its sites to protect against vandalism and theft, although such protection is harder during the day because so many workmen and delivery trucks have to have access to the development.

Barratt says it has a good safety record where its sites are concerned, but company staff believe it wise to issue warnings to parents and youngsters in addition to their school visits, during which they speak to pupils about the dangers that exist and “to emphasis the message they should stay away from building sites”, Mr Green said.

Barratt representatives plan to visit schools in Whitehill and Bordon in the autumn to talk about safety as the new town is developed.

After the 500 houses and a new construction-skills training centre and a business-and-enterprise centre are completed at Louisburg in the north of the town, the main part of the development, at Prince Philip’s Barracks, will begin, delivering 2,400 new homes and a new town centre, with shops, schools, a cinema and sporting facilities. Across the town, an estimated 3,350 new homes will be built in the next 15 to 20 years, doubling the population (including Lindford) to more than 32,000.

The first of the new developments, at Quebec Barracks, is now nearing completion and it is possible the new houses will be on show in early spring.