Barton Farm won’t solve shortage (From Hampshire Chronicle)

Barton Farm won’t solve shortage

3:11pm Wednesday 17th June 2009 in Your Say

SIR — David Atwell (Chronicle letters, June 11) is totally wrong to say Barton Farm will solve a property shortage in Winchester.

All that will happen is that new residents will be drawn here from outside the area and our surrounding towns, or London.

For many years I worked in Southampton and it was then the aspiration for some of my colleagues to move out to places like Winchester.

Furthermore, some developers locally make great play of Winchester being well located, plus having a good train service to London. However, they don’t mention the prospect of obtaining car parking space anywhere near the station after certain times.

Since WW2 there has been a constant property shortage in this country due to our rapid population growth.

Also will someone please tell me what cash figure ‘affordable housing’ is supposed to be locally?

I have never heard of an actual figure for Winchester quoted, and suspect ‘affordable’ is just a buzz word for anything fractionally cheaper than the other expensive property to be built on the development.

Many people involved with property development are very fond of quoting that phrase when ‘affordable to who?’ should be more appropriate.

Most developers sell houses for one reason only, they are not charities, nor can they be expected to be.

Going on what has happened in the past, any lower priced property available will be snapped up, and soon moved on, so speculators will make a quick buck as always.

The development of Barton Farm will spoil an attractive area of Winchester seen by many who approach it from the north.

It’s now impossible, but a more sensible plan would have been if Cala Homes had obtained the land at Bushfield Camp.

This in the past had been built on, and because of its situation, large tracts of housing may have been less obtrusive, and have better road access.

D E Cottle, St Stephens Road, Weeke.