WINCHESTER councillors have resoundingly backed plans to drop the developer of the Silver Hill scheme and start from scratch.

Property giant TH Real Estate (THRE) is set to be dropped from the £150 million regeneration earlier than expected.

Now the city council is planning its own development of the Silver Hill area over the next three to five years, with an immediate facelift for parts of the run-down site.

In the next few months the council wants to rebuild part of the crumbling Friarsgate car park, restore the empty Coitbury House health centre and improve the Kings Walk shopping strip.

As previously reported, Conservative leaders rejected THRE's plea for more time after U-turning on a pledge to start work by Christmas.

And the axe will fall sooner than expected as it emerged the developer will not have a period in which to save its plans if the decision is rubber-stamped in a fortnight.

All but one councillor backed last night's motion to walk away immediately.

"My belief is that enough is enough," council chief Stephen Godfrey said.

"Time is running short and we must see progress, that progress that the 2009 scheme will deliver: 100 new and affordable homes in the centre of Winchester, a new GPs' surgery, more car parking spaces, a much-improved retail scheme, a much-improved public realm ... a new bus station.

"We will look to make the best use of that land, to make it as smart and habitable and usable as best we can, but it will take investment to do that," he added.

It also emerged that a clause in the contract, giving THRE an extra 20 working days to put the scheme through after the deal is terminated, was deleted in 2010.

The revelation prompted fresh questions from the Lib Dem benches over whether the council was taking sound legal advice.

Lesley-Anne Avis, partner at Berwin Leighton Paisner, apologised for the practice's failure to spot the change but said it was "impossible to keep on top of all the variations" to the deal.

Cllr Godfrey said: "As best we can tell, we're taking the advice that will lead us to a proper decision."

Conservative Ian Tait, the only councillor to back THRE's plans, said the firm offered the best chance to develop the "third-worldish" site.

Councillors spent more than an hour in closed session to receive financial and legal advice amid fears they could be sued by THRE.

It is understood the meeting was told the council would have an "extremely strong" case.

Lib Dem group leader Cllr Lucille Thompson said: "It is time to bring an end to this whole sorry saga, which has been so dogged by delay and uncertainty. Now we know there will be no affordable housing and no proper bus facilities, there should be no deal."

The vote comes as a victory for Cllr Kim Gottlieb, the rebel Conservative who led a campaign to ditch THRE.

"It's an extraordinary outbreak of common sense," he said.

TH Real Estate has yet to respond to a request for comment.

But in a letter to the council published yesterday, fund manager David Pearce said: "Whilst we share the council's frustration at the obstacles we have encountered in advancing this project, we have clearly demonstrated our continued commitment to the redevelopment of Silver Hill and it would be unfair for pre-emptive action to be taken by the council prior to the conclusion of the judicial review process."

The developer was preparing for a hearing at the Court of Appeal in May in a bid to restore a revised version of the project.