Station Approach : Review
Notes for CWT address to Overview & Scrutiny committee 30.11.16
I cannot cover all the Trust's comments on the report, so the chairman has permitted me to give you copies of our written comments.
I will only mention now the conclusions that we have reached:
The Trust believes that although the lessons identified in the Report are important, they have not brought to light the fundamental reasons for the failure of the Process to produce a successful outcome. In summary we believe these fundamental lessons are:
Concerning the Process:
Advice about design competitions should be sought in the first place from the RIBA (the experts in the field) rather than lawyers. This could then lead on to overall management of the competition by the RIBA rather than solely by officers who, however dedicated, cannot be expected to have the necessary experience.
- I would add that in the circumstances we find it inexplicable that as far as I know no use appears to have been made of a list of LA contacts who have experienced successful RIBA managed competitions.
Concerning the Design Brief
The Brief should not set inflexible accommodation requirements, it should include a prior movement study, and should also be written with advice from experienced experts who, in this case, would probably have recommended a two stage process starting with a conceptual framework/masterplan before progressing to detailed designs, as we understand is the procedure being adopted for the Central Area.
Generally
Complex regeneration projects are a new experience for Winchester and should be more closely related to Historic-City circumstances. Until the necessary experience has been gained, there should be greater Council involvement in the process from the outset.