TrustNews Jun 21
Silver Hill - Going Forward. . .?
On 10th March Richard Baker and I followed the proceedings of the WCC Cabinet Meeting on audio to ascertain what progress was being made on Silver Hill (Central Winchester Regeneration), and when we compared notes, we agreed that very little seems to have been achieved. I lost count of the number of times I heard the phrase ‘going forward’ used when, clearly, nothing of any consequence appeared to be ‘going forward’ and without any Master Plan this was hardly surprising. A ‘battle cry’ used by Cllr Learney (LD) and Veryan Lyons (Head of Programme) was ‘Kick Start the Regeneration!‘ and this would be principally by dressing up King's Walk, arguing that regeneration is not always about shiny new building, and this would give an exciting focus by filling the area with a wish list of creative, cultural and commercial pursuits, and a wonderful introduction to the new central area which would emerge from the Supplementary Planning Document (at this point the word ‘delusion’ crossed my mind, as it may be interesting to note that at no place in their SPD does John Thompson Partnership recommend this as a feature for such a development).
Cllr Lumby (C) was strongly critical of this proposal for King's Walk, and of consultants Jones Lang LaSalle, who were ‘gorging' on this project. With costs already of £508,428 their contribution was not value for money. Cllr Horrill (C) also endorsed this point and bemoaned the lack of progress over the past two years (again, it's interesting to note that it was her administration that adopted the SPD and, unbeknown to any of us, was already in possession of draft masterplans submitted by consultants JTP which certainly could have kick-started Silver Hill's regeneration had they acted there and then). Katie Kopec of JLL spoke of balancing the costs of delivery for such a mixed-use development along SPD guidelines, but then showed a preference for a single developer to take charge, including the Public Realm, which is something of a contradiction since JTP had suggested a mix of developers which would enrich the variety of buildings within the Silver Hill quarter. Emma Back, of Winchester Sport and Leisure Trust, gave a caveat about POPS (privately owned public spaces) which could be the outcome of the JLL approach, and not a happy one as it would turn the Public Realm into private possession with attendant restrictions rendering it less public. No Master Plan for this sensitive urban regeneration, however, has yet been mentioned and with the complexities of all the considerations for such a regeneration it seems folly not to work to one.
What is so disappointing about the many meetings held since the adoption of the SPD in 2018, is the recurring theme that work is in progress. This meeting was no exception. We are no closer to understanding how regeneration planning for the Central Area is going to provide for traffic, car parking, buses, the findings of archaeological investigations and heritage/cultural development. Instead, the impression given was one of piecemeal activity, of ad hoc tinkering around the edges, rather than producing a sense of vision and purpose which is holistic and tangible in real terms to inspire confidence for an outcome truly worthy of our city.
As we were following this meeting by audio, we missed seeing the presentation of the slides by Veryan Lyons, but since we had seen these before in previous meetings it was interesting to try to visualize anything new from what was being said. Sadly, there was little or nothing to emerge except clichéd phrases which made one think of butter and parsnips.
Arthur Morgan.