THE CITY OF WINCHESTER TRUST LIMITED
REPORT OF THE COUNCIL AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED
31 MARCH 2002
Development Control Committee
Winchester continues to reel under the onslaught of the high density schemes resulting from the implementation of PPG3 that is discussed in detail elsewhere in the report. All kinds of proposed developments are popping up around our City, in its centre, its suburbs and its outer fringes - and a variety of action groups is springing into life as threatened residents join forces to protect their respective neighbourhoods.
The Trust aims to make dispassionate comments on the applications that are seen each week, considering the proposals in the contexts of Winchester as a whole as well as their immediate surroundings. As a result our views on some developments may differ from those of the people most immediately affected, who sometimes cannot understand why our conclusions are different from theirs. It is often the case that their concerns are best served with the help of their Ward Councillors.
lt is nearly ten years since details about our viewing panels and their activities were last circulated to our members, so perhaps it is now time to explain again how they operate and the reason why they came into being.
As everyone must know, the City of Winchester has no parish councils. Its citizens therefore lack the additional safeguard of having parish councillors to watch over schemes which would have significant local consequences in a District Council concerned with the affairs of a much larger area than just our City. The Trust has no wish to replace our missing parish councils in dealing with general problems, but does feel it has a part to play in fulfilling their role in commenting on the changes new developments might have on the City's character and built environment as a whole.
There are two alternating viewing panels, each consisting of three lay members of the Trust, one of whom acts as chairman, and an architect, who is usually retired. They follow guidelines which set out the Trust's current principles and policies, and it is important that panel members should be prepared to subsume their personal opinions in favour of Trust policy. Each prospective panellist is therefore given a copy of the guidelines and asked if they are willing to do this.
The applications are checked every week, and when a development seems likely to have a major effect on the neighbourhood it will be seen by both panels, and their views are combined to provide the Trust's comments - it is surprising how on most occasions a consensus opinion emerges via this process. The Trust's weekly comments are sent to the Planning Office (where they are available for the general public to read), and when there is an objection to a scheme a copy is also sent to the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Planning Development Control Committee. lt would be nice to be able to report that they always agree with our objections, but sadly this is not the case! It is however good to report that, because we give well-reasoned and knowledgeable comments, our views seem to be appreciated and are taken into consideration during the decision-making process, and it is sometimes suggested to developers with contentious schemes that they should consult us at the beginning of the planning procedure.
When a development is likely to have a particularly wide-ranging effect - and there are an awful lot of these at the moment - the applicants will be asked to make a presentation of the scheme so that it can also be seen by members of the Trust council. On other occasions the applicants will ask to give us a presentation of their scheme so that they can explain it in more detail. Presentations are attended by members of the council and viewing panels, and an amalgam of their opinions is then presented to the Planning Office as the Trust’s comments.
Other activities include writing letters when a scheme goes to appeal because the application has been refused by the City. As our comments will be on file we usually only write to the Inspector when we have objected to a scheme and have additional points to add to our original objection and, as is the case with our comments in general, our reasoning and arguments are not always the same as those put forward by the City.
To fulfil our role efficiently it is important that we should liaise closely with both the Planning Officers and the councillors on the Planning Development Control Committee, for we would have no influence if we were ‘at daggers drawn’ with them. lt is also important that our members should keep us informed of their opinions by commenting on the reports in the now more-frequently published TrustNews. We aim to respond to all letters and phone messages left at the Heritage Centre, so please make your views known!
As well as opinions, active participation is also sought - our perennial cry for help! Our regular panellists find their task enjoyable and interesting (why else do we have members who have been fulfilling this role for ten years or so?), but even the most committed member needs to be able to go on holiday or have flu. We have a team of reserves who deputise when regular panellists are unable to attend, and it is virtually impossible to have too many of them. If there are any Trust members who are interested in presen/ing the character of Winchester and are prepared to give up to three hours of their time on an occasional Thursday morning, please let us know. No specialist knowledge is needed, although architectural or landscaping experience would of course be most welcome.
Shione Carden
Chairwoman, Development Control