Development Control - Trust Annual Report 1984
It has been an eventful year for the Trust's Development Control Committee, with a large number of significant planning applications being made, encom¬passing a wide range of development proposals for Winchester. The Committee's primary task is to judge the quality of design with particular reference to the surrounding buildings. But the question of whether differ from the official line is that we prefer to judge each case on its own merits rather than condemn a good scheme on policy ground alone. So the Trust continues to pursue its own line on development control matters, sometimes supporting the Planning Authority, sometimes opposing it. Similarly, we do not like to oppose change for the sake of it, and will always attempt to make constructive criticisms of particular schemes, welcoming sensitive modern architecture if the situation is appropriate.
The largest group of applications has been those involving new office developments, often linked to demolition of existing buildings, within or near the centre of the city. The Trust has been closely involved in monitoring the progress of these various proposals and has sent detailed observations and criticisms back to the Planning Authority in virtually every case. There are occasions when we have considered office development acceptable because no other use is viable for the site, but we have been disappointed by the quality of design on most occasions, and have given reasoned arguments for re-design or improve¬ment. As discussed elsewhere in the Report, we strongly object to the proliferation of offices where this needlessly adds to growing areas of unrelieved office use. For this reason we applaud the Council's recent refusal of the large Staple Gardens development, but suspect that the proposals will return in a modified form. Our objection in such cases is to the initial brief, so no amount of modification will be the intended use is acceptable in context is unavoid¬ably a major consideration also. Where we tend to acceptable. A new approach involving mixed develop¬ment is necessary in order to suit our small-scale, multi-faceted city. And such schemes should include more planting of indigenous trees to replace the steady loss of existing trees from old age and the use of former gardens for development and car parking.
Similarly, we have objected to the brief rather than the architecture in a number of other cases. Apart from the strategic planning issues we consider that the Chesil Street car park scheme suffered more from the instructions, which governed its size and height, than from the design, which displayed some skill in attempting the hopeless task of merging into the hill. Likewise, the housing scheme for Edgar Road, which has much to commend it architecturally, is excessive¬ly over-developed for the area. The Trust wonders if applications in a certain category should not be made in two stages: first a written brief and, only when this is approved, the designer's solution. The opportunity for local opinion at the first stage, and the work saved for those who must at present design again to meet objections, would surely benefit all concerned.
With regard to the central conservation area, it is clear that the Trust should stand firmly behind the City Council in its desire to control the quality of design of signs and shopfronts. The problem here is that each application may not in itself be very substantial or significant, but taken as a group, it is surprising how many changes take place in the course of a year within the city centre. The apparent lack of visual standards of many traders and their thoughtless commercialism makes this task an increasingly difficult one, and erosion of the visual quality of central Winchester is a constant threat. Such matters need constant vigilance which can only be handled by the small groups that comprise the Development Control Committee, but larger issues, where time permits presentation of the scheme by the architect, are often judged by a wider group of Trust Council members. This procedure has increased during the year as more developers seek the opinion of the Trust. Members who would like to be informed of presentations (which generally occur at short notice) should make their interest known to the Hon. Secretary. Others who are interested in joining the viewing panels run by the Committee may contact its chairman direct (see back cover), as the small but dedicated band is in need of recruits to cover holidays and other commitments.