Losing the Royal Military School of Music would be akin to "ripping a limb from the community", a Whitton councillor has claimed.

Kneller Hall, which is just down the road from Twickenham Stadium, is one of 12 military bases across the country the Ministry of Defence (MoD) plans to sell for housing.

The proposals, announced on Monday, January 18, have sparked a horrified reaction from local councillors on both sides of the political fence and from Twickenham MP Tania Mathias .

Petitions have been launched by the Liberal Democrats and by the Conservatives, with the latter described as a cross-party petition set up on Richmond Council's website to trigger a council debate on the matter.

Gareth Elliott, a Conservative councillor for Whitton, said: "From my point of view this is potentially ripping a limb from the community.

"Everyone here loves Kneller Hall. I grew up with it and I've been to the concerts. It's a much-loved cultural asset and to hear this news is quite tragic."

Kneller Hall, in Whitton (By Jonathan Cardy, via Wikimedia Commons)

The music school has been based at the Grade II-listed mansion in Kneller Road, Whitton, for more than 150 years and in 2007 was awarded the freedom of Richmond borough.

The MoD has said it is "streamlining its estate to raise £500m for defence spending and to support government plans to create 160,000 new homes by 2020. It said more sites for development would be announced "in due course".

It said there are about 60 staff based at Kneller Hall, who would move to a different site, which has yet to be decided, under the proposals.

You can sign the petition on Richmond Council's website here .

The Liberal Democrat petition can be found here .