Development Control Committee - TrustNews Summer 1996
Whether or not members personally have the 'feel-good' factor constantly quoted as an indicator of economic recovery, there are signs in Winchester that housing developers are seeing light at the end of the tunnel through which the building sector has been travelling for so long.
A huge amount of extra accommodation is already becoming available on Peninsula Barracks, where apparently both apartments in existing buildings and new houses are selling well and there is a proposal to build a block for a further twenty flats at the Romsey Road end of the site.
Another two large developments are now proposed, on the site of the Marston Brewery Depot, Hyde Street, and off Greenhill Road on the north-west corner of the West Downs site where King Alfred's College is building its college campus. Both schemes are for over fifty new dwellings and they give an interesting example of contrasting ways of providing accommodation in this quantity on restricted sites with different characteristics but some similarities.
At the Marston Brewery Depot a mixed development is proposed, consisting of some social housing, houses in a courtyard/mews and in a terrace, and a very large block of flats. Although this main block is tall and long, it will mostly be hidden by the walls on Hyde Street and North Walls, and considerable differences in ground levels on the site help to accommodate its height. A new route between Hyde Abbey Road and Hyde Street and a public space with a children's playground are also part of the scheme, and though both are welcome, in their present form neither will provide the benefit that they should. This is Winchester's 'secret garden' which very few people will have seen and it contains one of the city's most impressive ancient monuments, part of the old City wall. The public area is located near the wall on part of the old bowling green, a most inaccessible place for the general public because it will be shielded from the pedestrian route on the north of the site by the length of the main block. The space will only be of value to the City as a whole if the existing gateway on North Walls is opened up for pedestrians and cyclists. This would not only give a pleasant route to the Leisure Centre and access to the ancient monument and public area, but with steps at the south-east corner of the site it could also provide an alternative traffic-free pedestrian way along North Walls. We have been told this North Walls access would cause a hazard, because cyclists and pedestrians would rush out into the traffic on North Walls and cars would stop to allow residents to disembark. The Trust argues that a barrier railing would prevent either of these probabilities and that a way into this previously inaccessible site should not be denied on such grounds.
On the Greenhill Road boundary of West Downs the developer has opted for high density terraced housing, many with plots smaller than those of the existing nearby houses (and they are not over large). The site's cramped layout makes no attempt to preserve existing trees or to relate to either of the large elements in its boundaries, the new King Alfred's College campus and West Downs, a sizeable listed building whose close proximity requires some recognition by the development. The new houses face into the centre of the site, turning their backs on their surroundings; on Greenhill Road the houses are at present shielded by a hedge, but this is only a temporary barrier and at some later date the far from lovely rear elevations of the new buildings could be exposed. This is another site through which a pedestrian and cyclist route is essential, in this instance to gain maximum benefit from the public open space on the campus. The Trust understood that a pathway through to Greenhill Road was a condition of the planning permission granted to King Alfred's College for Phase II of their development, but there is no sign of this route in the application.
The Trust has objected to both these schemes. While the Marston Brewery development is on the whole acceptable, there are certain aspects that need to be improved, and we consider it essential that there should be pedestrian access off North Walls. The development on Greenhill Road is another matter, and we have objected to this on grounds of over-development of the site, unsatisfactory layout, inadequate landscaping and lack of public access across the site - in other words, start again!
Members may have noticed the burgeoning telecommunications masts in Winchester; the result of expanding Information Technology, these are difficult to control because IT has government support and Local Authorities are discouraged from making problems over new installations. Even though no more than a short delay may result, the Trust supports the Planning Committee's refusal of Mercury's application to erect a 15 metre telecommunications tower and associated equipment on St Catherine's Hill. As was so rightly said, it would be an undesirably intrusive feature in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty which contributes to the setting of Winchester.
The proliferation of traffic signs also seems impossible to control, and it is galling that this is self-inflicted damage. The Trust has for many years urged that a system should be set up whereby the Planning and Engineering Departments could consult about proposed alterations to the street scene. But signs, ramps and traffic calming schemes still materialise with great efficiency and speed, often to the detriment of the historic environment of the city. Both the City and the County are involved in these happenings, and if two departments within the Winchester City Council cannot talk to each other, what hope is there for successful communication between the City and the Hampshire County Councils? The car-parking signs fiasco is the latest in a crop of environmental warts, but events are moving too fast to discuss them here, since the signs will probably all be in place before this newsletter reaches you!
Fortunately, it has not been all bad news during the past few months. The development on land at 56 Tower Street mentioned in our last newsletter has been refused, and there were also two well-designed schemes, much to the delight of our long-suffering panel members who don't actually enjoy making rude comments the whole time. One was a sensitive addition to St Faith's Primary School at St Cross, and the other was an infill house at 3a St Swithun Street that respected the scale and height of its neighbours without being a pastiche. An added bonus was the clear presentation which made its innovative interior layout easily understood - more applications of this standard would be welcome!