Feedback from the 2020 Group - TrustNews Jun 13
Members may remember from earlier articles that the Trust and WinACC have a joint working party that we call the 2020 Group because it was formed to perpetuate the innovative thinking initiated by a 24-hour brainstorming event in 2010 when architects and planners imagined how Winchester could evolve as an attractive and sustainable city by 2020. The Group, which takes no major action without approval, meets every few weeks and two items presently top the agenda.
Barton Farm — The diversion of the Andover Road traffic through the estate has tended to dominate discussion. Despite a very detailed presentation from Cala, we remain convinced that the diversion is a mistake, and they are similarly unconvinced by our argument that an innovative redesign of Andover Road (with direct access to the new shopping centre) would be the better option. While neither Cala nor WCC are prepared to consider this alternative, and having approval for the diversion from the Secretary of State and HCC as Highway Authority, we have an impasse. Consequently, though maintaining our objection to the diversion, we are working with Cala on those aspects where there is scope for influence. These include the design and density of the housing and green areas, the layout of the roads and paths, the distribution of parking, the composition of the centre and, most importantly, the future sustainability of the estate. We have visited a number of recent developments to study the latest thinking on these matters, and attended workshops organised by Cala and the City. With the exception of the road diversion we are currently optimistic about the way things are going.
Regeneration — We believe it inevitable that pressure for growth will continue, and that better use of underused and unattractive areas within the city should be preferable in future to the easy option of further ‘dumping’ in Winchester's unique setting. By way of example three areas were chosen to illustrate what might be done, and most recently we have concentrated on the ‘greater’ station area — the least attractive gateway to the city. lts footfall is not that far short of the city centre and we believe it is ripe for investment. However, we also believe that, if left to individual developers, buildings will be unrelated to each other within their own site islands, and that the public realm will receive scant attention — what an eminent architect once called SLOAP — the space left over after planning. WCC is investigating the potential economy of the area and practical matters like the need for parking, but we believe there should be a study that goes further than this, that investigates the opportunity to make the whole area a credit to the town, that creates attractive and obvious links to the centre, walking and cycling routes to the surrounding areas, and potential for a public transport interchange.