TrustNews Mar 20
Station Approach
As l am sure everybody is by now well aware, the City of Winchester Trust overturned the outline planning permission granted by Winchester City Council for 17,500 sq m of offices on the Carfax site (Station Approach).
The planning permission was challenged via a Judicial Review on five grounds and the City Council consented to the quashing of the planning permission on one of them, that is that the Council failed to consider the effect of the proposed development on the setting of listed buildings, St Paul's Church, and the views from St Catherine's Hill.
Some of our other concerns with the scheme are:-
1. The existing, attractive Gladstone Street terrace scale of housing was likely to lose much of its character by being overpowered by a wall of offices opposite, exacerbated by the car park position, which both enters and leaves the underground car park from Gladstone Street.
2. The overpowering of the County Record Office.
3. The way in which the development was likely to be procured seemed to relinquish much of the control over the aesthetics and size of the buildings, as the site was to be sold with outline planning consent only, the only control being via a long City Council-held leasehold clause.
We were of course aware that the W.C.C. application reacted to previous comments from various quarters by lowering the height by two metres and by reducing car numbers, but this did not alleviate fundamental problems as set out above.
Much of what could be achieved might well be resolved by following the adopted Local Plan which sets out what a developer should consider for Station Approach. The reference for this in the Local Plan Part 2 document is Policy WIN6.
We recognise that with some councillors and W.C.C. officers, the City of Winchester Trust is considered a reactionary body of people who object to initiatives and that our reaction to the Station Approach application crosses the co-operation line. In fact, we would encourage development on Station Approach, but development that relates in scale and is in sympathy with central Winchester which we have argued is not the case at present.
We have also been accused of ‘losing’ the local authority a £5 million grant to undertake work to the public areas of Station Approach. It seems to us that to build an overpowering block in a prominent position which can be seen across the bowl in which the City Centre conservation area is sited, and is likely to be therefore many years to come, is a result that is not a desirable outcome. Consideration of the historic core of Winchester should come first - why, because people visit and want to live and work in Winchester, and they all come with great expectations. Expectations are more than Winchester‘s history, it is the way in which the built environment is configured which contributes to our appreciation and enjoyment of a place. The style of architecture and grandeur of buildings is secondary to a successful urban space often articulated by quite modest buildings.
So, the impact of a large block on the upper tip of the City's conservation area should contribute to the visual delight of much of Winchester by complementing, adding and linking such development to the existing townscape.
Keith Leaman
Coitbury House
At first sight this is not a building that makes you jump for joy. For me the building contributes very little to the surrounding area. However, the surrounds are poor and detract from the Winchester scene. On closer examination Coitbury House does have merits and one begins to recognise that with imaginative restoration, the building could make a positive contribution.
The building is surprisingly well built, with, in particular, excellent well-laid expensive (in today's market) brickwork. The building is robust and has many, many years of life left, so l consider that the Local Authority has made a good decision to keep and enhance the building. Coitbury House is the first move in the effort to restore this central area of Winchester and as such it is going to be an important marker for development to come.
The building sits on the northern edge of the central area development zone and faces onto Friarsgate. The buildings immediately around are likely to be demolished and replaced so the new development will no doubt have to relate to the context provided by Coitbury House. It also means that the most important elevation of the building will face south and the presentation of this elevation therefore becomes very important.
The use of the building will be mainly offices but with the ground floor being considered as a flexible space with perhaps the public in mind, so that the use embraces the area to the south.
Vision Statement
We recently published the City of Winchester Trust Vision Document. The document followed on from our Vision for Winchester issued at the beginning of this century, so we felt it was about time the vision was re-visited. ln fact, after seventeen or so years, many of the observations made then are still pertinent today and incorporated into the refreshed document.
It is important to recognise this is a consultative document and that we welcome contributions to be considered for updating the vision. The idea is (particularly in view of all the potential development in and around Winchester) to keep the document updated on a much more frequent basis, so please let us have your comments.
Proposed Station Approach Design Model
Station Approach
As l am certain you are all aware, the architects (L.D.S) have recently presented their preliminary design to the public. As expected, it has had a mixed reception. There are many very positive ideas generated, for example, the decision to keep the ex-registry office, the many active ground floor frontages, the way in which the buildings are designed to use the contours etc. However, there are also questions concerning the car parking, particularly when considered against the movement study document which is proposing that car movement in central Winchester should be reduced. With the provision of 135 car park spaces, this proposal does not appear to follow the recommendations suggested in the Movement Study document, that is to reduce traffic movement. We also consider that the height of the buildings along Station Approach need verifiable views, so that the heights of buildings can be understood. Routes to and from the City centre enhanced by recognising the need to link the station with the city centre, even though implementation is likely to be spread over a number of years. We also felt that surface spaces around the station need to indicate by materials and patterns used, that the Station Approach area has pedestrian priority. We have written a letter in greater detail to the local authority, setting out our comments made following the recent presentation.