TrustNews Dec 22

Winchester District Regulation 18 - Draft Local Plan 2019 - 2039

 

This lengthy 560 page document has been published for public consultation by Winchester City Council. Comments have to be sent to the Council by Wednesday 14 December 2022.

 

The Plan sets out the vision and objectives of the Council for future development across the Winchester District, outside the South Downs National Park. The Plan covers a wide range of topics. Climate change (which influences all parts of the Plan), design, transport, biodiversity, historic environment, housing, employment and development allocations.

 

The Trust will be responding on the policies and proposals that are concerned with the future development of Winchester City. A key proposal for the City are the eleven site allocations for development shown in the plan. Four sites are existing allocations: Barton Farm, Station Approach, Central Winchester Area and Bushfield Camp. The capacity of these sites for housing development, plus windfall sites, has been calculated in the Plan. They could provide 5671 new houses in the plan period.

 

 

The 2021 census gave Winchester City a population of 45,1 84. On the basis of 2.5 persons per household, 5671 new houses would increase the population by 14,177 to 59,361.

 

The population of Winchester in 1861 was 14,776. The Trust plans to challenge the 'capacity calculation'. The critical criterion for additional houses is 'need', and the capacity of infrastructure to serve them whilst conserving the character of the City and protecting its landscape setting.

 

The City of Winchester Movement Strategy Consultation started in Autumn 2017. Detailed proposals to implement this Strategy remain to be set out and adopted. The Trust had hoped that in 2022, polices and proposals for the City in this draft Plan would have been fully informed by the Strategy. Instead the Strategy remains in a state of aspiration.

 

The Trust would like to hear comments from members about the draft Plan (which can be viewed online at www.localplan.winchester.gov.uk. The Trust will be submitting a comprehensive response to the consultation. This will be published on our website.