Bushfield Down - TrustNews Jun 12
The Trust has always strongly objected to development at Bushfield, repeatedly stressing to the City Council that any development would be very conspicuous from St Catherine’s Hill and other parts of the South Downs National Park which borders the site. This backdrop to St Cross has been called the key to the setting of Winchester.
The draft Local Development Framework in its section on the City stresses the importance of the setting, but at the same time includes Bushfield Down as an area for development which it terms an “Opportunity Site”. Landscape impact constraints have been promised, but have not appeared and the Trust fears that by default this could mean that they will be tailored to accommodate any opportunity that arises. We have lodged a detailed objection to this element of the LDF with the Inspector responsible for the necessary Public Inquiry. This compulsion to build on the down above St Cross and the Itchen Valley is very curious considering that a 1997 report on the area by the City Council contained the words:
It would be difficult to over-emphasise the importance of these particular vistas, not only in terms of the historic setting of the Hospital (of St Cross) and the importance to Winchester of this ancient charitable foundation, but also in terms of the far wider importance of St Cross in reflecting the cultural, ecclesiastical and architectural evolution of Britain and, indeed, Western Europe.
It is hard not to conclude that repeated pressure from the landowner has achieved its long-term objective of convincing sufficient councillors that this is a development site. The Trust will continue to fight this proposal with vigour.