Local Government Review - Trust Annual Report 1994
The Trust made its submission to the Local Government Commission for England in January 1994. Although the Trust did not, at that time, recommend a preferred option for the future of local government in Hampshire, the submission highlighted those requirements for local government that were relevant to the work and sphere of interest of the Trust. These were:-
- a sufficiently large and expert planning department to handle completely the needs of Winchester
- adequate funding for the proper care of the City's character, including increased grant aid for historic buildings
- improved management of roads, traffic and parking, and better provision for planting and open spaces
- insurance that the economy and status of Winchester will not suffer from any changes that take place
- secure provision for the continuance of the present high standards of the records and museum services
Since the Trust also expressed misgivings as to whether these requirements could be adequately met under a unitary system, and also the high cost of radical changes, it could be interpreted that the Trust was advocating the maintenance of the status quo, but with significant improvements.
The Trust received the Commission's Draft Recommendations for Hampshire in July 1994. This gave the primary option of maintaining the two-tier County Council/District Council system, but excluding Portsmouth and Southampton. The second option was seven single-tier unitary authorities, including Winchester in a large central Hampshire authority stretching from Andover to Petersfield.
Having studied the Draft Recommendations, the Trust made its second submission in August 1994 in which we supported the first option of an improved two-tier system, identifying traffic and the development of land owned by the County Council as being two areas where improvements were essential.
The Trust also took the opportunity to comment on the need for a Winchester Town Council, as the equivalent of the Parish Councils in rural areas. After studying the three-tier system operating in Chichester (County Council/District Council/Town Council) and reflecting back on the pre-1974 Winchester Town Council, the Trust recommended that there should be two tiers - neither more nor less. If the County Council remained, then there should not be a Winchester Town Council, but if Winchester became part of a unitary system, then there would be an urgent need for a Town Council.