Building High - Trust Annual Report 1964
The new Police Headquarters in Romsey Road have come in for some adverse comment. It is complained that many of the distant views of Winchester have been spoilt.
There can be no objection to building high in general. Modern building techniques make it inevitable, and it saves a great deal of spread into the surrounding countryside. But the top of a hill is probably not the right place for an unremarkable rectangular block. However good the textures and finish of a building, they are invisible in the distance, and if there is no interest in the whole mass it becomes an unwelcome intrusion into the landscape. It would be far less visually objectionable in a hollow or on a hillside.
One is left wondering what part the County Planning Authority plays in deciding what a County Department should have when it is designed by the County Architect.