Major Sites and Projects

The City Council is involved in a number of major development projects in the District. These may arise from the allocation of sites in the relevant development plan, or from a owner's desire to improve property or provide a new service. The latest position on some of these projects is as follows:

Silver Hill

Silver Hill is the area of Winchester immediately adjacent to the bus station and Friarsgate car park. It is an area which needs regeneration and improvement to match the quality of the rest of the town.The original developer of the scheme, Thornfield Properties, is now owned by Henderson Global Investors which has the funds necessary to acquire interests on the site and finance the construction. The Council and Henderson have a development agreement which defines the requirements for the scheme.

West of Waterlooville

Winchester is working with Havant Borough Council on the major development area (MDA) which forms a western extension of the urban area of Waterlooville. The MDA itself is mainly in Winchester but must integrate successfully with Waterlooville town centre, which is in Havant Borough. An outline planning application has been granted to Grainger plc for the development of 1,550 homes and to Taylor Wimpey for 450 homes. Taylor Wimpey has commenced their first phase and these properties are selling well. Grainger has not progressed its scheme for commercial reasons but is working on a new master plan which should form the basis of an application in the middle of 2010. This will now include the planned extension of the MDA to a total of 3,000 homes. The MDA will include 2 primary schools, employment land, nursery, sports facilities and large areas of open space.

North of Whiteley

Winchester's new Local Development Framework (LDF) identifies an area to the north of Whitley as a possible location for approximately 3,000 new homes. This is known as the North Whiteley MDA. A consortium of three developers has begun master planning work and public consultation ahead of the formal adoption of Winchester's LDF. A North Whiteley Forum has been established to give local councillors and the general public the opportunity to fully participate in the process. Key issues include the provision of new transport infrastructure and additional school places for primary and secondary pupils.

Barton Farm, Winchester

The Council received an outline application for the development of 2000 homes at Barton Farm in November 2009 (planning reference 09/02412/OUT). This application could not be determined within the period set by the Government and so the applicant, CALA Homes, has appealed against the non-determination as they are entitled to do. This appeal inquiry will be held in September 2010. The final decision on whether to allow the development to go ahead will be made by the Secretary of State after receiving a recommendation from the Planning Inspector who conducts the inquiry. The Council must state its own position before the inquiry and this will be decided at a meeting of the Planning Development Control Committee on 14 June 2010.

CALA Homes has submitted a second identical application and this is expected to be dealt with at the same meeting.

Whiteley Outlet Village

In December 2009 the Council resolved to grant planning consent for the redevelopment of the outlet village at Whiteley. The scheme will see the site owners replace the existing retail outlets which sell end of line and clearance goods with a new 'town centre' with shops and services more suited to a busy residential area. A date for construction to start has not yet been agreed.

More detailed information on each of these projects is available by searching the relevant pages of the Council's on-line register of planning application documents