CONCERNS have been raised at Winchester's Town Forum about getting a 'broad spread of opinions' on the Silver Hill redevelopment.

A major attempt to get ideas from the public on the multi-million pound redevelopment got underway last week with a roadshow.

The public were invited to share their vision for the site at the Sunday Market, Winchester train station, Bishop's Waltham and Alresford.

The city council is attempting to resurrect the city centre project following its collapse last year.

Representatives from architects JTP were on hand to gather thoughts on how the re-vamp should go ahead.

But at Town Forum, councillor Eileen Berry said: “There are groups of people here who probably don’t know about this. There are groups of people that will say ‘Oh we didn’t know.’”

Chairman councillor Anne Weir agreed it was important to get a "broad spread of opinions" on the development.

Charlies Campion of JTP Architects said the group would be speaking to students, youth groups and local schoolchildren, and added that word of mouth was important to encourage participation in the process.

The meeting also heard of plans for JTP representatives to join Winchester Street Pastors at night in an attempt to reach a wider cross-section of the community, such as people who work at night.

Councillor Jamie Scott said: "I think the good thing about this is the freshness. That area of Winchester is crying out for development.

"This is our lovely city – we should all want to go forward in the right manner."

Councillor Vikki Weston said: "It is about a balance, and about what we can have there. Nothing is off the table. It is about bringing it all together."

The ideas will feed into the Central Winchester Regeneration community planning weekend on March 24- 25, which is set aside for workshops and sessions for the public to attend.

JTP will then report back their findings on April 4-5.