Chairman's Miscellany - TrustNews March 2007
Fifty years ago, in 1957, the Trust was founded to protect the character of Winchester from the policies of central and local government under the guise of ‘slum clearance’. It has had some success in saving buildings from demolition and restoring them to further useful life. It has also fought with some success against damaging road proposals and made constructive contributions to restoring buildings that Winchester can be proud of. The campaign to mitigate the effects of Government policy guidance (PPG3) was also successful in persuading the City Council to encourage the production of Neighbourhood Design Statements and Local Design Statements as planning guidance.
Emerging policies for the future will demand a continuing need for vigilance to ensure that the unique character of Winchester and its setting is maintained for future generations. Although the South East Regional Plan refersn to Winchester’s unique historic importance, the policies to safeguard Winchester from the inevitable development pressures are not yet apparent. The Government lays stress on the need for community involvement in formulating the plans for the future, so make sure that your views are made known to the planners before any decisions are taken.
The City Council has recently published a vision for the future of Winchester entitled “One Vision One Place Winchester - Towards Our Future”. It is available on the Council website and also, for ease of access, on the Trust’s website. Unfortunately there are no paper copies available although it is the stated intention of the Council to consult residents on the content. The Trust has been invited to a meeting on March 13th when the ‘Vision’ will be discussed. Inevitably there are conflicting ambitions that will need to be resolved but setting them out is a step in the right direction and we should like to have your views before the meeting.
Again this newsletter is going to be printed before the Trust Council has time to consider its response to the amended plans for Silver Hill, but the comments will be on the website and emailed to those for whom we have an address.
The first event to celebrate the 50th anniversary will be the launch on March 23rd of the book written and generously donated by Phil Yates for publication by the Trust entitled ‘Time Gentlemen Please! – The Story of Winchester’s Pubs, Breweries and Hotels Past and Present.’ After that date it will be on sale at P & G Wells bookshop in College Street, the SPCK bookshop and at the Heritage Centre, price £9.95.
Paul Grover, Director of the Solent Architecture Centre, has kindly agreed to give a talk for the Trust on May 22nd. He is a speaker whose enthusiasm for his subject is catching so we are sure it will be an event to enjoy – see Diary Dates. The Trust will also be running an Awards Scheme this year which is being organised by Norman and Ann Roberts. Our website is being given a new look by Barrie Brinkman and we hope you will find it interesting and easy to use.
The fact that councillors have been seemingly unable to discuss planning applications is a subject that has long been contentious among Trust members and Harvey Cole has kindly and helpfully addressed the issue in this TrustNews.
Finally I should like to thank members who sent in suggestions for marking this anniversary. They are all being considered for appropriate action. It has also been suggested that visits to places of interest in places such as Oxford, Portsmouth, Chichester etc by coach could be arranged if a sufficient number of members would support them. Please let us know if you would be interested.