THE vision for a major regeneration project in Winchester is set to be signed off a meeting today (Wednesday).

The draft supplementary planning document (SPD) for the Central Winchester Regeneration project, also known as ‘Silver Hill 2’, aims to guide potential developers and was set to be adapted by the city council’s cabinet last night.

Changes to the document caused sparks to fly between councillors debating it at an overview and scrutiny committee meeting earlier this month.

Following a legal challenge, the wording used was altered, with ‘should’ becoming ‘may’, ‘requires’ becoming ‘expected’ and ‘must’ becoming ‘could’, to name a few.

Lib Dem councillor Martin Tod questioned the changes. He said: “Are we about to accept weaker language than that in our local planning document? I think we need to look closely at ourselves in terms of openness and transparency. I think we have fallen short.

“One of the things residents would want me to be doing is make sure the language is as strong as it can be within the law.

“When can we see this [legal] advice? Will we see this advice?”

The changes were defended by Council leader Caroline Horrill, who described herself as a “cheerleader” for the project, and council chief executive Laura Taylor, who said: “Even if the [legal] letter had not been received, we would have taken legal advice.”

The new SPD follows the collapse of the original Silver Hill scheme in 2016.