Planning Appraisal Group - TrustNews Dec 12
Housing developments seem to be on the move again in Winchester, so perhaps we are indeed coming out of recession.
At 28 Chilbolton Avenue a previous scheme to convert the 5-bedroom house into eleven letting rooms, which we felt would be very cramped and inadequate, has been replaced by a proposal for demolition to make way for two 4-bedroom detached dwellings and an apartment block with (at the request of WCC) the appearance of being a single substantial house, with underground parking. The block is designed with a prominent central entrance d oorway on the front elevation, which turns out to be completely false and has a party wall behind it; the actual entrance is located inconspicuously on the north side of the building and is accessed by a narrow footpath. Surely the interior layout could be designed to make use of the apparent main entrance? Access to the houses behind is also difficult, being via a narrow footpath or through the underground car park, so that service or emergency vehicles would be unable to get to them. We objected, feeling that too much was being expected of the site.
It is also proposed that 116 Christchurch Road should be demolished so that three 4-bedroom and three 3-bedroom houses could be built. The house is a good prewar infill that fits in well with the character of this part of the road and we objected to its demolition; we also felt that the three detached dwellings fronting onto the road would have too urban a character for this part of the Conservation area.
Two developments involve the demolition of an existing bungalow. One proposal is to demolish 68 Stoney Lane and build ten dwellings on the site and on land at the rear of Nos 58-72. We objected, feeling that the houses in the back gardens would compromise the amenities and privacy of houses in both Stoney Lane and Westman Road, and that the site width of No 68 was too narrow to accommodate both the replacement bungalow and the access to the other nine dwellings in a satisfactory manner. The other scheme is to demolish The Bungalow, Easton Lane, for a block of 12 flats. The Trust was given a presentation of this by Bargate Homes and those attending it responded favourably, with some reservations about particular details. This scheme has now been submitted to the Planning Office and we have still to see the application.
Perhaps the most disturbing scheme is for Rooksacre, Lankhills Road, where two alternative proposals have been submitted. One is for four 5-bedroom dwellings of traditional style at a density of 25 dwellings per hectare (dph), with gardens that seemed rather too small for the size of the houses, while the other is for a contemporary style development with a density of 45dph, which is more suited to the city centre than a quiet suburban area such as this. The existing house and garden is a good example of the Arts & Crafts style that is characteristic of the low density of this peaceful enclave, and we have objected to its proposed demolition.
These proposed developments give cause for considerable thought. While appreciating the very great need for more housing - but do we really need more 5-bedroom houses? - it is essential that great care is also taken to avoid the degradation of Winchester’s better suburban areas. The historic city centre has many champions, but the incremental alterations made to its outskirts tend to be overlooked. For example, Christchurch Road and Lankhills Road have their own special characteristics, as does Stoney Lane – and as did Chilbolton Avenue. The Christchurch Road area became a Conservation Area to preserve the spacious Victorian layout, and Lankhills Road is a quiet backwater. Stoney Lane currently consists predominantly of bungalows in reasonably-sized gardens and is an obvious target for development. It could easily therefore go down the same regrettable path of incoherent development as Chilbolton Avenue. It would be a great relief to know that our City Fathers had a guiding framework for development in the suburbs as well as in the centre, but sadly this appears improbable. As they say in the forces “If you have a plan you can change it, but if you don’t you are at the mercy of events” – in this case developers!