AN EXHIBITION that would have seen major city plans going on display has been cancelled.

The masterplan for Winchester City Council's Station Approach project was due to go on display on Saturday, but has been cancelled due to the snow.

A spokeswoman for the city council said: “The Station Approach information event which was due to take place on Saturday, March 3 at the Hampshire Records Office has been cancelled due to the severe weather affecting the Winchester area. We are currently arranging an alternative date and will announce this in due course."

The spokeswoman added that the rest of the public engagement programme approved last month would still be going ahead as normal.

The include a drop-in exhibition at the Hampshire Record Office in Sussex Street on March 7 between 4pm and 7pm.

Councillors will also be taking the plans on the road, with exhibitions planned at the Swan Hotel in Alresford on March 17, between 10am and 12pm, and at King’s Church in Bishop’s Waltham on March 17 from 3pm to 5pm.

Stakeholders have been invited to workshops on March 5.

As previously reported, civic chiefs signed off the masterplan for the redevelopment of Station Approach, with £5 million of support from the external funding provisionally agreed.

The plans outline how Winchester City Council aims to build 13,000 square metres of high-quality office space that will provide the council with income in the area next to the city’s railway station.

It also aims to to provide more car parking and improve traffic flow for vehicles and pedestrians.

The scheme, which is still in the early phases, is the second attempt by the council to develop the area.

The first scheme collapsed in 2016 after city councillors voted against the architect’s proposals. Design of the £150 million project will now be carried out by architects Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands, who were appointed last September.

Last month the council cabinet (Station Approach) committee discussed the masterplan and public realm strategy for the area that stretches from Gladstone Street to the cattle market car park and Andover Road.

A council report approved at the meeting said: “Securing the high-quality public realm across the Station Approach area is an important objective.”

The meeting heard that £5m of funding through the M3 Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) had been provisionally approved for the project.

Cllr Eleanor Bell said: “I feel very impressed. It’s on its way and a very good plan.”

As well as the master plan, councillors unanimously agreed that quality would be the most important factor in the tendering process, which would have a weighting of 70 per cent. The remaining 30 per cent would be judged on cost.