Topics include:
- Station Approach
- Station Area Parking
- New Tory ‘Tip Tax’
- Our crossing campaigns
- The local vote to ‘remain’
- Air Quality
- Grammar Schools
- Safer Routes to School
Category: St Paul
Lots on this week.
The big topic is ‘Local Plan Part 2’. Â This is due to set our detailed local planning policy – mainly what type of buildings and other developments go where – for the Winchester District until 2031 – so it’s important to get it right. Â To this end, a group of local organisations are running a briefing and discussion evening on the evening of Tuesday 11th of November. The City Council will be running a consultation the following day.
A more immediate issue is the plan to redevelop the Police Headquarters in Romsey Road. The Hampshire Chronicle has a useful article covering the recent past of the site. As it says:
Outline planning consent for 294 flats, access and parking was granted in 2007 and then extended in 2010.
However the proposals are likely to be quite different and it will be important to see how they match up to local housing needs, to the design of the area and whether they provide sufficient local infrastructure.
Finally, if you feel like building something yourself, RIBA South has organised a Winchester Design Day at the Guildhall featuring a bunch of local architects!
| Date | Time | Place | Event | Who |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue 11 Nov | 7.30-9.30pm | United Church, Jewry Street | Shaping our future: the Local Plan for Winchester District | City of Winchester Trust, FoE Winchester, WinACC and WACA |
| Wed 12 Nov | 3.00-8.30pm | Discovery Centre, Jewry Street | Official WCC Consultation on Local Plan Part 2 | Winchester City Council |
| Thu 13 Nov | 5.00-8.00pm | St Paul’s Church Hall, St Paul’s Hill | Exhibition of proposals for redevelopment of the Hampshire Police HQ | Adams Hendry on behalf of Berkeley Homes |
| Sat 15 Nov | 12.30-2.30pm | |||
| Sat 15 Nov | 10.00-2.30pm | Bapsy Hall, Guildhall, The Broadway | Winchester Design Day 2014 | RIBA South |
I’ve been getting some emails from local residents who are concerned about a threat to local lollipop people – I think as a result of this Living Streets campaign (an organisation I would normally support – indeed, I’d be quite keen to get a local branch going here!).
This has come as a bit of surprise, since a combination of campaigning by local people, hard work by local school governors, teachers and council officers and pressure from local councillors has just helped us get two more locally – one in Cheriton Road and one in Stockbridge Road. Â I was chatting to the newly appointed lollipop man in Stockbridge Road only two days ago!
For your information (not least because Hampshire County Council doesn’t put submissions on its website), our response to the planning application for Westgate School.
Executive Summary
While the architecture of the new school buildings is of a high standard – irresponsibly inadequate attention has been given to the traffic, transport and safety issues arising from 420 new primary pupils attending the expanded Westgate School; and the proposed relocation of the nursery school. Planning permission for the new school buildings should be withheld until there is a clear plan, with timetable and budget, for investing in transport infrastructure in the vicinity of the school in order to create a safer environment around the school with new measures to reduce congestion and increase safety in and around Cheriton Road and to make it easier for the majority of the 4-16 year old pupils to walk for some or all of their journey to school or – for the older pupils – to cycle.
The current planning application is not in accordance with paragraph 35 of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) that ‘plans should protect and exploit opportunities for the use of sustainable transport modes …[and] should be …designed where practical to give priority to pedestrian and cycle movements’.   Nor is it in accordance with Policy T5 in the Winchester District Local Plan Review (2006) or CP21 in the Winchester District Local Plan Part 1 – Joint Core Strategy.   The creation of 420 new school places is a major development and the planning application currently itemizes little or no investment in off-site highway improvements including new and improved pedestrian and cycling facilities.  In addition the application is not in accordance with the West Fulflood & Orams Arbour Neighbourhood Design Statement (NDS), published in 2008.
The consultation about Winchester’s primary school places is still ongoing at http://www.hants.gov.uk/winchesterprimaryplaces and it’s vital that as many local people as possible respond before the closure date of June 15.
Under both the main scenarios being consulted upon, Fuflood is by far the most affected area in the whole city with either a 100% or 50% increase in local primary places.
I was at the public meeting in Westgate School with our local County Councillor, Phryn Dickens, and fellow City Councillor, Robert Hutchison, and Phryn attended the public meeting at County Hall (unfortunately, it was the same night as a Winchester City Full Council Meeting so the City Councillors couldn’t attend). We have also met council officers and the chair of governors and head teacher of both affected local schools.
While quite a lot of new information has been added to the website since the consultation began, there are still a lot of questions to be answered and extra details needed – particularly on ‘Option B’ where 5 schools are due to be expanded: what exactly are the facilities that we will see in each school under the various options – and what exactly will they cost? Â I’ve also been asking a series of questions about likely catchment areas under the two options.
Phryn has also suggested some extra sites for evaluation and raised questions about the traffic assumptions in the proposal.
In addition to the questions above, I’ve also been asking about traffic, for more information about 4-16 schools and more specific details of the assumed facilities available in Western and Rotherley under both of the scenarios.  I also managed to highlight several developments that had not been included in the county’s calculations. (There’s a whole issue about the linkage between planning of houses and planning of schools which is a real priority for me to sort out as a councillor).
It’s not long to go now. Â The consultation ends tomorrow. If the County Council sticks to its plan to have a decision in July, we should see the proposals from council officers on July 9. Â And the final decision will be made on July 17 by County Councillor Roy Perry. Â The papers for the decision and details of the meeting should be available on this page here. Â I’ll keep reporting on progress via Twitter and on this site.