COMMUTERS grab their morning coffee at a new plaza while they wait for the train.

Students cycle into town and business chiefs look onto a new public park where families play.

That is the vision of six Hampshire students who have released a video showing how they would revitalise the gateway to Winchester.

Youngsters at Southampton University have created plans for the city's Station Approach development, which council bosses hope will attract big business to the ageing area.

Their plans include a new square outside the train station, office blocks to attract major firms, new cycle paths and a roundabout replacing one of the city's busiest junctions.

They are the first proposals to be revealed ahead of a design competition for the Winchester City Council scheme.

But architects helping the students have warned that they are "operating in the dark" and need more information about the area.

Paul Bulkeley, director of Snug Architects, said: "By far the most significant users of the site are Peter Symonds students, and they barely get a mention. The powers that be are middle-aged people – car parking gets a lot of mention, commuters get a lot of mention, tourists get a lot of mention, but [where] they don't have anywhere near the amount of people coming through is the students."

The civil engineering and architecture students conducted short surveys of the site, monitoring who used the area and where they went.

Hampshire Chronicle:

The whole site with new buildings in orange. Cattle Market car park will be covered with green space (right) while the City Road junction will be turned into a roundabout (centre right)

Mr Bulkeley added: "At the moment people are operating in the dark, and they're operating on presumptions rather than actual observation.

"I think the students have shown that there needs to be better research."

Youth-friendly proposals include wider pavements and a cycle path on Andover Road, connecting the station to Peter Symonds College and the new Barton Farm estate.

Sixth-formers will be encouraged to shop in the area and eat lunch at the station plaza, which could also include an evening market for commuters.

Plans to retain the Cattle Market car park and create a new open space over the top are likely to be welcomed by residents angered by the prospect of tall new buildings on their doorstep.

The video also shows how concealing the City Road junction from the station will direct pedestrians into town via Upper High Street. A sliproad between Andover and City Roads will avoid the new roundabout.

Mr Bulkeley said: "The idea is to rebrand this part of town. At the moment it doesn't look like that, people don't see it. This is about developing the whole area to make sure it gets a buzz going and gets investors excited."

What do you think of Snug Architects' proposals? Write to the Hampshire Chronicle at letters@hampshirechronicle.co.uk