Development Control Committee - TrustNews Spring 2001
Garnier Road Pumping Station
Some schemes have been kicking around for so long that they almost seem part of the furniture. These include the Garnier Road Pumping Station, where last autumn the conversion to residential units was refused by the City. The applicants went to appeal, which was not allowed, and they are now proposing that the Pumping Station should be converted to office use. This seems a more appropriate use, especially as it is now intended that the alterations to the interior will mostly consist of a free-standing structure accessed by new staircases. The structure will be set back from the windows so that if the new floors cut across them it would not be apparent from outside. This treatment also allows the roof structure (and the crane which is apparently to be kept) to be seen, so retaining some feeling of the original internal spaces.
Another is the residential development on the site of 75-79 Eastgate Street, where a scheme which satisfactorily retains the listed Mildmay has recently got planning permission. The proposed new buildings are a mixture of 'period' terraces and contemporary smaller buildings, including one reminiscent of a boat house, which should make an interesting addition to the river frontage.
26-27 Staple Gardens
formerly 'New Inn'
The development at New Inn, 26-27 Staple Gardens and the adjoining Blanchard's Yard is also still with us, and since the scheme was given planning permission last summer it has been sold on to another developer who has apparently discovered that the old Blanchard buildings are beyond repair. It remains to be seen whether this is actually the case.
Following permission granted last September, activity is evident behind the fence on the Evans Halshaw site, Hyde Street, where following archaeological investigations, the existing structures are being demolished to make way for this interesting residential development. Less signs of life can be seen on the site of Bereweeke House, which had been given the go-ahead before last year's Spring Newsletter was published. The old house is no longer there, but work on the block of flats has yet to start, though the sign on the site says flats will be available for sale this autumn.
Sadly, another old house is also to be demolished, despite our efforts to prevent its destruction. The applicants went to appeal following the City's refusal to grant permission for the scheme proposed at 52 St Cross Road, which was discussed in our last Summer Newsletter. The appeal was allowed by the inspector, and soon three new houses will appear on the site. Fortunately the fears raised in the same Newsletter about the "Lutyens-style family house" were unfounded: Salters, Salters Lane, has remained in single occupancy, though with a smaller garden.
The Hampshire Chronicle was quoted as saying that the City Council had indicated that up to 16 homes could be built on the remaining land at Salters - how wrong this was! The development at present being considered for the site consists of no less than 42 units, twelve of which are proposed to be in the form of detached 5-bedroom houses. The Trust has no quarrel with the density proposed, if this will help to preserve the setting of Winchester, and would probably accept a higher density, provided the layout was satisfactory and if the infrastructure problems mentioned by the Chairman elsewhere in the Newsletter could be resolved. The developers gave the Trust a presentation of their proposals, which was useful in helping us to understand the scheme, and it was clear they were endeavouring to fulfil the requirements laid down in the City's draft consultation document Achieving a Better Mix in New Housing Developments. This aims at reducing the shortage of housing available in the Winchester District to those on low and relatively low incomes, and complies with the Government advice given in the Planning Policy Guidance Note, PPG3. While the Trust fully supports these aims, it is felt the requirement that 50% of the units should be social housing (ie small 1- and 2-bedroom units) which includes 30% affordable (ie subsidised) units should not be enforced willy-nilly on every site as a matter of principle. What is appropriate in the city-centre, where shopping, other services, and transport to out-of-town facilities are close at hand, is not necessarily right for a site such as this on the out-skirts of Winchester. From the developer's point of view this enforced requirement for low-cost housing has to be off-set by building enough high-cost units to make the scheme commercially viable, which results here with twelve detached 5-bedroom houses and a layout that neither makes best use of the site nor provides a sense of community. Providing adequate access for vehicles could also jeopardise the important belt of trees and rural character of Salters Lane, and the Trust has therefore objected to the scheme currently proposed for this site.
It is good to be able to respond positively to another development proposed for this area on the outskirts of Winchester. The Trust has also had a presentation of the proposed English Courtyard development on the site of Wyke Mark, prior to the planning application being made. This site adjoins that of the Salters development, but will be accessed from Dean Lane. Only one garage is allocated for each of these units for retired and elderly people, and based on the evidence from other English Courtyard developments it seems that little use would be made of their cars. In this case it is proposed there would be a minibus for the residents, which should reduce the amount of additional traffic. It was clear that a lot of careful thought had taken place during the preparatory stages before embarking upon the design of the buildings and the landscape of the surrounding grounds. This has resulted in a layout that retains about 90% of the existing trees and makes good use of the site to achieve a higher density than that proposed on the Salters site without any feeling of overcrowding. It is also a welcome relief to be fairly confident that the quality of the buildings and landscaping will be to the high Standard indicated, for all too often the final quality of development falls below the standard stated in the original proposals.
We wish that Orange Personal Communications Plc would be as caring for our local environment, but it seems from recent applications that this had no importance when they were choosing sites for their installations in Kyneglis Road, Lanham Lane and Byron Avenue, all of which would be very detrimental to the local street-scene. Is this really what we want to happen in Winchester?.