NEW designs for the Station Approach scheme in Winchester are being pursued.

Winchester City Council’s cabinet says it is committed to a development at Station Approach – despite the rejection in July of architects who won a design competition.

The council is seeking new ideas for offices, shops, homes, parking and public spaces at the Carfax site near Winchester Station.

It decided at cabinet against developing further the ideas of Hopkins, also known as Bidder B.

Its plans were rejected by councillors who said its scheme was too big.

Leader of the Liberal Democrat group Lucille Thompson said she was relieved that the council is not rebooting Hopkins’ plans.

Cllr Thompson said: “We thought the council vote was clear and were horrified when the Tories tried to reintroduce the scheme with minimal changes.

“There was a lot of lobbying behind the scenes to persuade councillors to change their mind, but the Liberal Democrats made it clear they wanted a fresh start to take into account the views of local people and local businesses.”

Meanwhile Martin Tod, who was a huge critic of the plans drawn up for Station Approach by both Bidder C and B, believes that there is a vital opportunity for the council to work on a scheme that will be welcomed by everyone.

Cllr Martin Tod said: “Hopefully this will go some way to restoring people’s faith in the democratic process. It is important that the council must listen to the views of local residents and others so that we can agree on a way forward that will produce the kind of development that is appropriate and acceptable in this part of town.”

City council leader Stephen Godfrey said: “This decision demonstrates the importance of Station Approach to the city and the council.

“The architectural competition did not produce consensus over the leading design and members were not convinced that it could be adapted sufficiently within procurement rules.

“Cabinet believes that both bidders are firms of significant standing and expertise.

“However, members felt that whilst the winning bidder could change its current design to meet the issues identified, under the current procurement process it might not be legally possible to make those changes.

“Accordingly, cabinet does not rule out the possibility of Bidder B or any of the other tenderers being invited to tender again under the new procurement.

“The Council has listened to people’s views and shown flexibility in its approach. I hope that those who are passionate about what is right for Winchester will also show willingness to compromise as we move forward so that we can deliver this much-needed improvement.”

New designs for Station Approach are likely to be sought by advertising for an architect instead of through a design competition and will involve the Royal Institute of British Architects’ (RIBA) Competition Office.

Meanwhile on Monday, the overview and scrutiny committee heard that four businesses are still interested in moving into Station Approach.

Cllr Guy Ashton asked how the new process would be different to the first. “What is going to be different so we don’t end up in the same position. What key learning has cabinet taken on board?”

Cllr Godfrey the council would use the design brief in a different way. “We are giving ourselves more freedom to bring forward a design that is acceptable and that will work for Winchester.”

Cllr Godfrey said an architect would be appointed before they started the detailed design and would work with the potential tenants.

Critics say the flawed design brief was the reason that Hopkins and the other bidder, Winchester-based Design Engine, both came up with scheme that were condemned for being too large.

The scheme has been delayed by the need for traffic assessments to see how city centre traffic will be affected by the development.

A group will be set up for ongoing consultation to include councillors, local residents, the City of Winchester trust, chamber of commerce, BID, Peter Symonds College, the university, 20:20 Group and local secondary schools.

CllrThompson said: “We need to look at the design brief again. If we go with the same design brief we will just come up with a similar proposal to Bidder B (Hopkins).”