A CAMPAIGN to preserve a much-loved Winchester water garden is starting to gather pace.

A City of Winchester meeting attended by around 40 people discussed how The Watergarden, in Colebrook Street, might be kept for the benefit of the public.

As reported in the Chronicle, concerns were raised that the piece of land with cathedral views could be redeveloped after it went on the market for £100,000.

The space backs onto the walls of Cathedral Close and features a picturesque garden with a stream running through.

A listing by Winchester estate agents Belgarum stated: “There may be future development potential.”

The meeting, convened by Janet Hurrell of the Hampshire Gardens Trust and chaired by Keith Leaman of the City of Winchester Trust, heard the estate agents have now already received an offer, which has been accepted.

It was greatly hoped that any prospective owner would be community-minded, and willing to maintain the garden as former owner and Winchester MP Peter Smithers and his successors had done.

But there was anxiety about the price, and the condition in the purchase that the seller should get 30% of any future development profits.

Steve Tilbury, corporate director at Winchester City Council, told the meeting the council was very keen to prevent any change to the garden's current status as a public asset. There were numerous measures they could take to ensure this, he added, to do with planning and conservation.

The garden is already protected by virtue of being in a conservation area, and closely connected to several other listed buildings.

Restrictive covenants from 1967, when Peter Smithers sold the house and garden, suggest he intended to constrain development.

At the meeting, many people felt it would be valuable to have the site listed by Historic England. One criterion is a connection with significant persons, which would be fulfilled by former owner Sir Peter Smithers, who died in 2006 aged 92.

The garden he created at Colebrook House, with its little detached water garden, was only one example of his horticultural creations. His book, Adventures of a Gardener, first published in 1979, was reprinted in 1995 and translated into several languages, and he was given one of the Royal Horticultural Society's highest awards.

He was also a wartime spy, working with Ian Fleming and, rumour says, he was the model for James Bond.

Nearby resident John Holder, of Colebrook Place, said: “The path past the pond is a critical part of the city’s tourist routes used by many tens of thousands of visitors and residents.

“Any development of the site would have to be incredibly sensitive, but probably foolish.”

Mr Holder added: “It’s almost a tourist attraction itself.”

The garden adjoins the home of Winchester City Council portfolio holder for finance Guy Ashton.

Cllr Aston said: “The land used to go with the house, but when we bought it in 2007, the owner wanted to keep the garden as a sort of momento.”

Cllr Ashton added that the land was owned by Lady Barbara Calcutt, the widow of Sir David Calcutt, before she died last year. It was then passed onto her executor, who is selling the land.

‘The Water Close Garden in Colebrook Street is an exquisite design, adding greatly to the charm and character of the area in the vicinity of Winchester Cathedral. It is a delight to both visitors and local people and richly deserves protection and conservation.’

Gilly Drummond, president of the Hampshire Gardens Trust, said: “The Water Close Garden in Colebrook Street is an exquisite design, adding greatly to the charm and character of the area in the vicinity of Winchester Cathedral. It is a delight to both visitors and local people and richly deserves protection and conservation.”