ORGANISERS of a Winchester protest march this Saturday are hoping thousands of people will take part.

The Winchester March aims to highlight alleged dangers to the future of the city posed by the Silver Hill redevelopment and proposals for Chesil Street and the Station Approach area.

The march starts at North Walls park at 11.15am and will pass through the city centre to the Guildhall for a series of speeches.

It is set to be the biggest march since two against the Barton Farm housing scheme about ten years ago.

Protest leaders want the city council to rethink its support for the schemes.

Spearheading the campaign against the £165 million Silver Hill development is city councillor Kim Gottlieb.

He said: “The saddest thing of all about this misconceived proposal is that, because of a lack of vision and an ineffectual bureaucratic process, we’re missing out on a once-in-several-generations opportunity to create something distinctive, beautiful and inspiring that will enrich the city and ensure its future.

“As things stand, England’s ancient capital is on the brink of being devastated.”

March organiser Mike Caldwell said: “The issues with Silver Hill typify the problems we’ve had with numerous proposed developments in that the city council shows precious little understanding of what the city’s residents want”.

He added: “There’s a crushing feeling that the council will simply do just what it wants and that public consultation is just an inconvenience to which they pay lip service.”

Council leader Rob Humby denies the council refuses to listen. In a letter to the Chronicle published today, he said “Development must be sensitive and address the concerns of local residents. Consultation is important, but I doubt it will ever lead to concensus.”

Meanwhile Cllr Gottlieb has been granted leave to pursue a judicial review against his own Tory administration.

On January 29, the High Court will decide whether, in accepting major changes proposed by developer Henderson to a previously consented scheme, the council broke UK and EU procurement regulations.

On December 11, the council, as the planning authority, intends to decide a series of planning applications including Silver Hill.