Consultation informs Station Approach plans
The next steps on plans for the Station Approach area of Winchester will be informed by one of the most detailed consultation processes ever undertaken in the district.
Following criticism of other consultations, Winchester City Council designed the process for Station Approach from scratch. It has included:
- Press and online publicity
- Printed leaflets
- Hand-delivered materials to local homes
- On-site distribution at the railway station
- Face-to-face meetings for local residents and interest groups
- An online survey
- Website publication of detailed consultation findings
Cllr Stephen Godfrey, the Leader of Winchester City Council, said:
The consultation for Station Approach was at an earlier stage in the process, more detailed and more comprehensive than any we have done before. We have received many hundreds of individual and collective responses and all of these are being considered.
We have even received a critique of our summary of the responses. I take this as a positive sign of the level to which people are engaged in this consultation. I would ask only that everyone takes a realistic view: with so many responses we must group them in practical ways, so they can influence the decision-making process. We are aware of the strength of feeling on a number of issues and the sometimes widely differing views.
Comments were received on design, pedestrian and cycling issues, parking, retail and commercial aspects, traffic and flow, public art and culture, housing, public transport, environment, the Registry Office and Conservative Club, general opposition to development, the station and its approach, a Roman burial site, working together, the need for modern flexible office space for business users and the NHS and some miscellaneous matters.
There will be further stages of consultation as proposals for each phase of the Station Approach scheme are developed.