Draft Winchester Town Centre Plan - Trust Annual Report 1979
The 'Town Centre Plan — Meet the Planners' meeting on 21st May was a valuable guide to the general views and feelings of the membership, and the opinions expressed during and after that meeting were taken into account when the Committee got down to the task of examining the Plan in depth.
It was immediately realised that the Plan was too complex to be dealt with adequately at the already overloaded monthly Committee Meetings. A special Sub-Committee was therefore established and this divided itself into four specialist panels which met as frequently as necessary and reported back. In this way, the Plan was considered at two levels — specialist and integrated.
The Trust's preliminary comments were delivered to the City Council on 14th June and a detailed commentary (19 pages) was submitted in August. Copies of both documents were sent to each of the 54 members of the City Council and to the seven County Councillors who represent the Winchester City District.
The conservation proposals were generally welcomed, especially those for new Conservation Areas. It was felt, however, that Conservation Area status should be accorded also to the Monks Road and Northbrook Avenue areas; to the original high area of Highcliffe; to parts of Sussex Street, Gladstone Street, Newburgh Street and Tower Street; to the Butterfield Hospital Building and to part of the northern side of North Walls. In addition, it was felt that C/A status should be accorded to the Northern and Southern Water Meadows, unless equally reliable protection could be obtained by other more appropriate means.
It was considered that the proposals for redeveloping the Central Car Park for increased shopping were based on an insufficiency of information. It was feared that a large new shopping development might, if successful, divert the centre of 'shopping gravity' away from the High Street and Jewry Street, prejudice the small specialist shop and lead, to a substantial increase in the type of shop (e.g. the daily needs multiple) which relies for its success on a large number of customers requiring close parking facilities. The wholesale redevelopment approach to the Central Car Park was disliked and it was suggested that a gradual incremental redevelopment of a mixed kind would be more appropriate.
The retention of all old housing stock which is not entirely beyond rehabilitation was favoured, as was an increase in City Centre housing. Ways and means of achieving these objectives were suggested.
The Trust agreed that purpose-built speculative offices generally represented a serious threat to the character of Winchester. On the other hand, it was felt that small offices are much less detrimental than large ones, providing employment without the necessity for directly associated car parking and, in many instances, leading to the conservation of buildings or parts of buildings which are no longer suitable for their original purpose. The proposed allocation of the Carfax site for County Council office development was strongly opposed.
Tourism was seen as an appropriate field in which to seek the economic prosperity necessary to support con¬servation. It was felt that the Plan should have provided a much more imaginative and positive policy to encourage tourists and to manage their presence in the City in such a way as to achieve maximum benefit and minimum disturbance. It was suggested that an economy class hotel would be appropriate for the Carfax site and that encouragement should be given to the development of Winchester as a sightseeing and entertainments centre for the discriminating and historically-minded visitor. Particular mention was made of the Theatre Royal and of historic sites such as Wolvesey and Winchester Castle. It was thought that there is a positive need to liven-up certain parts of the City during the evening.
The Trust made a large number of detailed comments on the transport proposals. In particular, it suggested a strategy of restraint — possibly operating on a selective basis — on vehicles entering the City, as an alternative to the proposal (the preferred one in the Plan) for accommodating increased traffic by widening North Walls. The concept of a County Primary Route passing through the City was not supported and the Trust's general view was that traffic flows and vehicle sizes should be adjusted to the constraints imposed by the historic fabric and existing pattern of streets and radial routes.