IT IS the bold vision for the centre of Winchester that council chiefs hope will be developed in the coming years.

Attractive buildings, exposed waterways, and a new "mixed-use" quarter that includes space for retail uses, cultural space open space and space for community uses along with housing for young and old, form part of the latest vision for Silver Hill 2 - or central Winchester Regeneration Area.

JTP architects and urban planners have been consulting more than 1,500 people and businesses over the last few months to see how they want the area developed, with the ideas to be fed into a Supplementary Planning Document (SPD).

Now that vision was shown off for the first time on Tuesday night, as more than 200 people gathered at Winchester Guildhall to see the early stages of what could be the future of Silver Hill.

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It is a significant step in shaping the future of this part of Winchester, after the development of the area was set back when an earlier joint £150m scheme between the city council and developer THRE collapsed in 2016. 

Council leader Caroline Horrill, told the Chronicle that the four hectare area will have enough space for housing, commercial uses, cultural space,a mixed use pedestrian friendly quarter and retail.

Leading the presentation was JTP managing partner Marcus Adams who said: "This is a SPD, it is not a final scheme, it sets out the framework or skeleton of what this area can be."

Mr Adams confidently explained to residents how there are plans to re-use buildings like the Antiques Market and the Woolstaplers' Hall,- with the Antiques Market in Kings Walk being used as a space for new business start-ups and for creative purposes.

Within the area there would be new streets and alleyways which can "stitch" the neighbourhood north of the Broadway back into the city centre, and linking Abbey Gardens to the south and Winnall Moor.

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Central to this creating a new bus interchange at Middle Brook Street, and opening up part of the bus station at The Broadway for archaeologists to explore.

Meanwhile much of the parking in the "inner ring" in Winchester would be minimised to encourage sustainable transport. 

His presentation was well received by those attending, and many questions from the public centred on transport, which largely depends on the new movement strategy for Winchester, being carried out by Hampshire County Council.

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Speaking to the Chronicle ahead of the meeting, Cllr Horrill said: "We want to have a mixed-quarter with retail and cultural space and housing, commercial space and community use on the site.

"We want it to be pedestrian friendly we will say we are setting out a footprint for the regeneration area that shows where we have open space and exposed waterways, where we might have new pathways, and it will show the land available for development.

"We are particularly looking to sharing with everyone the opportunities that might exist for change, one of the key aims is the removal of buses from the High Street which gives the chance to move the market down.

Cllr Horrill also spoke of using the space in front of Winchester Guildhall, as public space.

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(Pictured, an artists impression of how the Broadway could look if it was pedestrianised)

Speaking about whether there would be an Anglo-Saxon museum she said "We know there is a desire to have arts and cultural input and there is space on the map to enable us to do that."

"We do not want to be a dusty town that only attracts visitors from afar, we want to be a vibrant community, economically sound and a wonderful place for our community, businesses and visitors to enjoy."

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Some have called for the area to focus on Winchester's heritage and for any development to not be of a large scale one of those is councillor Kim Gottlieb.

Cllr Kim Gottlieb was initially positive but says the key will come to the detail of the scale of any potential scheme.

Cllr Gottlieb said: "It is wonderful that Winchester is getting a second chance, and I am delighted that JTP are approaching this key regeneration project as a series of smaller projects under the umbrella of a master plan.

"This is the best approach to ensure the optimum built form of development but, and with major development there are always many buts, the devil will be in the detail, particularly in terms of architectural style and scale. 

""The success of the project will also depend upon how the Council responds to JTP's recommendations, when finalised. 

"My own hope is that it will avoid any temptation to commercialise every part of the site, and regard it as an opportunity for a predominately civic-minded development.

"This approach will generate benefits for the whole district and, in the longer term, respect our heritage and stimulate the local economy far more effectively."

It is hoped the SPD will be completed by early 2018 which sets out the framework for the area and future development.

For more information, visit http://www.jtp.co.uk/projects/community-planning/central-winchester-community-planning-weekend