WINCHESTER civic chiefs are pressing ahead with plans to build council houses on a Winchester open space.

Cllr Kelsie Learney, Cabinet member for housing, has ordered a business case for eight houses on the open space on Dyson Drive in Abbotts Barton.

She told a meeting that the public reaction had been “broadly supportive”.

The council envisages six three-bedroom homes and two two-bed ones, available for people on the housing waiting list. The two-bed homes would be shared ownership.

The council currently has 347 applicants wanting two and three-bedroom homes.

The houses would be built to Passivhaus standard which is highly energy-efficient.

Six potential sites in Abbotts Barton were first identified as far back as 2012, Cllr Learney’s decision day meeting heard. A site in Hillier Way was eventually developed with 13 homes completed at the end of 2017.

Local architects T2 have been appointed to draw up plans for Dyson Drive.

Abbotts Barton residents were consulted about building on Dyson Drive in July 2019 and 200 people attended an event on the site. Deborah Sunley, council project manager, told the meeting: “Some residents were concerned about the loss of amenity space. It is not well-used because there is a large space not far away. There were concerns about the appearance of the buildings with many favouring traditional designs.”

There had been opposition to development in Abbotts Barton a few years ago but an application to have the space designated a village green has been dropped the meeting was told.

Cllr Learney said: “We will make clear which areas of green space we are keeping and how much green space there is. Abbotts Barton has more green space than where I live in Harestock, a suburb which dates from the same era. We can be proud of the amount of open space we have there.”

Abbotts Barton has a large open space off Chaundler Road.

The meeting heard that houses would be more suitable for the low-rise Abbotts Barton area; the council has been developing flats at The Valley in Stanmore and has plans for more in Winnall at the flats on Winnall Manor Road.