Crunch vote on masterplan looms (From Hampshire Chronicle)

Crunch vote on masterplan looms

2:16pm Thursday 1st December 2011 in North Winchester By Warwick Payne

The fate of Barton Farm (pictured) and several other sites will hang in the balance when councillors decide whether to approve the district masterplan on Thursday, December 8

THE document likely to decide Barton Farm and the fate of several other major schemes comes before civic chiefs next week.

It is the latest draft of Winchester’s 20-year district masterplan, which includes house-building targets.

It says 11,000 homes are needed, including 4,000 in the city itself, but the figures are being challenged.

Cllr Kelsie Learney, who leads the opposition Lib Dems, wants them to be scrapped and re-calculated.

Cabinet members debated the report on Monday (November 28) and a further session is planned next Wednesday.

The following evening, a special full council meeting will require a majority of councillors to back the report.

Cllr Learney told Monday’s meeting that housing demand in the Winchester district was always likely to outstrip supply. This was because so many people wanted to live there, she added.

As a result, she said targets should start at zero, and communities should decide how many to add.

“I think we need to sit down again and look at what we want to achieve,” she said.

Cllr George Beckett, who leads the Tory administration, said the plan could be rejected if the targets were unsound.

“We are not the judge and jury in this case. We have to put forward policies that satisfy the Government’s policies,” he said.

Council head of strategic planning Steve Opacic said outside experts agreed with the 11,000 target.

He added that they looked at what would happen if Winchester had no population growth.

House prices would rise, and few young people could move into the district, he said.

“It deserves to be completely rejected as an option,” he said.

It comes after an independent Academy of Urbanism report came to the same conclusion.

Its spokesman Derek Latham presented it to Winchester Town Forum last Wednesday (November 23).

He said: “We don’t think Winchester is in a position to pull up the drawbridge, no matter how attractive that may seem.”

He added that the “ostrich” approach of ignoring housing need would lead to a city of senior citizens.

“You’ll end up with a situation like Eastbourne where the housing market has suffered, oddly enough because older people with money don’t like living with lots of old people,” he said.

At Monday’s meeting, council corporate director Steve Tilbury said not enough housing land was available to meet demand.

A similar argument was made by developers at the Pitt Manor public inquiry, which ended earlier this week.

A decision on the scheme for 200 homes and Winchester’s third park and ride site is now awaited.

Meanwhile, Cala Homes’ plan for 2,000 homes at Barton Farm is heading to the High Court for the third time.

It comes after the scheme, which includes a new primary school, was rejected by Eric Pickles, and twice by the council.

If the 20-year masterplan is approved in its current form, Barton Farm could be much harder to defend.

The final decision on the report will be made by full council next Thursday (December 8).

Speaking this week, Cllr Beckett said he hoped that a whipped vote amongst his Tory group would not be needed.

They are tied with the Lib Dems on 27 seats in the chamber, with one Labour and two Independent members.