Footballer Rory Prendergast is celebrating a major win after scoring a new Bargate home in Basingstoke. The former Blackpool and Barnsley midfielder drove 200 miles to reach Chailey Court on Winchester Road, the day the £4.6 million scheme opened to the public. Luckily he was at the front of the queue and just five minutes after the doors opened 37-year-old Rory had reserved a one-bed apartment. The footballer, who also played for Accrington Stanley, York City and Darlington, is moving to the area from Yorkshire to start his new post as Head of Football at Berkshire Agricultural College in Maidenhead. He joined more than 200 people who queued in the rain just to view the show apartment. In just under two hours all 23 apartments had been reserved. Rory said: “I’m absolutely over the moon with my new home. I’ve been looking for a long time to find the right place to live and when I saw on Rightmove that these apartments were about to be released, I wasn’t going to leave it to chance and drove down to attend the launch. “I had no idea though that so many people would do the same thing, if I’d left it any longer I’d have missed out. But having seen the work that Bargate has done, I’m not surprised that people were queuing. The attention to detail is second to none and the team couldn’t have been more helpful. I can’t wait to move in.” It’s the first time that we have built in Basingstoke and we have been overwhelmed by the huge response. Bargate Sales and Marketing Director Robert Lambie said: “We’ve worked across the south for almost 10 years, but have never found the right opportunity in Basingstoke. We knew the redevelopment of Chailey Court would work well, but did not expect anything like this response. “We had more than 200 people through the doors after queuing in the rain. Then they just couldn’t reserve the apartments fast enough – we’ve even got reserve lists for the reserved homes! “Perhaps we shouldn’t be too surprised – the apartments are stunning and in an ideal position for people looking for a city home and certainly for those who work in Basingstoke or commute to London.” Work is well under way at Chailey Court with the first one and two-bed apartments ready in early summer 2015.