IT has been a year when many events returned and major changes to Winchester were proposed or completed.

The Chronicle has taken a look back at some of those this year. Below is some of the main stories from July to December

Earlier this week we also detailed some of the events from January to June, click here for the look back.

JULY

CAMPAIGNERS start July pressing for a historic gateway to be given a new lease of life.

Members of Hyde 900 want to revamp Hyde Gate and turn it into a cultural centre.

Council workers at the collapsed wall on Tuesday. Photo: Tom Czarnota

Council workers at the collapsed wall on Tuesday. Photo: Tom Czarnota

A historic wall in Winchester collapsed during heavy rainfall, sparking criticism of alleged city council neglect.

A section fell down on the path between King Alfred Terrace and King Alfred Place in Hyde.

The Hat Fair returned to Winchester but in a new way to allow for social distancing.

The outdoor event was staged at North Walls Recreation Ground and nearby School of Art car park and was ticketed.

Bus driver Martin Walker who crashed a double decker full of schoolchildren into a railway bridge is jailed for three years.

Forty-one children were injured, three of whom suffered life-changing injuries after the roof of the bus was ripped off when the crash occurred in Wellhouse Lane, Headbourne Worthy, in September 2020.

Fans in Winchester ahead of the Euro 2020 final

Fans in Winchester ahead of the Euro 2020 final

It was a rollercoaster of emotions as thousands of fans in Winchester gathered to cheer on The Three Lions.

Some pubs were fully booked days in advance as young and old came together to watch England play Italy in the Euro 2020 final.

The Bishop of Winchester has announced his retirement after ‘stepping back’.

Rt Rev Dr Tim Dakin has formally notified his intention to officially retire in February 2022.

Boomtown’s Boom Village has been cancelled due to “escalating cases of Covid-19 across the country”.

AUGUST

THE tragic coronavirus death toll across Winchester care homes has been revealed.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has released statistics showing the number of deaths in individual care homes after residents tested positive for Covid-19. In total, the watchdog received notifications for deaths with Covid-19 for 89 residents.

Hyde Street in Winchester will be reopened after a controversial year-long closure. Hyde Street was shut last year to allow for easier social distancing on North Walls.

A busy stretch of Winchester’s one-way system could be made two-way in radical new plans. One of the top priorities for the Movement Strategy is to convert Friarsgate, Union Street and the two-lane part of Upper Brook Street into two-way streets.

The cause of the flooding which damaged homes and business in 2020 has been revealed. A report by the county council said it was due to intense rainfall which left the city’s drainage system unable to cope - but gullies in affected areas were also not cleared.

Marvin B Naylor in the spot on The Square where he was ordered to stop playing

Marvin B Naylor in the spot on The Square where he was ordered to stop playing

Winchester Cathedral is investigating a confrontation between a priest and a well-known busker.

It has denied the Marvin B Naylor was ordered to stop playing but was asked to move his pitch.

The volunteers at Badger Farm vaccination centre have been rewarded after helping to administer more than 60,000 jabs.

SEPTEMBER

A MAN appears in court for allegedly threatening police with an imitation firearm during a 32-hour stand-off at Mountbatten Court, Weeke. Richard Peter Kempson refused police entry to his home himself inside with officers eventually carrying out a siege. He will appear in Winchester Crown Court in December.

The “Battle of The Square” concludes as a Winchester Cathedral clergyman apologies to busker Marvin B Naylor for telling him to move from his usual spot on The Square. “The clergyman has apologised wholeheartedly for the upset caused and I’ve accepted his apology,” Mr Naylor tells the Chronicle.

Open space threatened by development at Sir John Moore Barracks near Winchester

Open space threatened by development at Sir John Moore Barracks near Winchester

A campaign is launched for a new nature reserve at a soon-to-be vacated military base near Winchester. Part of Sir John Moore Barracks is proposed for a 25-hectare reserve in the northern section at Flowerdown. The base was a top-secret listening base during World War II feeding information to the code breakers at Bletchley Park.

Work progresses on the multi-storey carpark in Bar End at the former Vaultex site. A key decision for the plans is postponed at the last moment.

Plans for a huge development between Winchester and Hursley are dropped. The Royaldown scheme had been included on Winchester City Council’s SHELAA (Strategic Housing and Employment Land Availability Assessment) - a wishlist for developers. It sparked a huge cross-party campaign of local people when the plan for 5,000 homes on land owned by farmer Nick Russell was revealed late last year.

There’s panic at petrol stations as people flood to fill up across Winchester causing huge queues. Tempers sometimes flared as stressed motorists wait in some cases for more than an hour or reach the forecourt to discover the fuel has gone.

1 The Broadway in Winchester: no longer on the route for National Express

1 The Broadway in Winchester: no longer on the route for National Express

National Express stops its services to and from Winchester after it finds that the coaches are not suitable for its pick up and drop off point at The Broadway.

OCTOBER

SUPPORT grows for a lido in Winchester city centre on the site of the River Park Leisure Centre. The city council is expected to publish its plans for the leisure centre and park this autumn.

Criticism mounts over access to Winchester’s new sport and leisure park for those with disabilities and unable to drive. Winchester City Council announces that it is launching a free travel trial to encourage residents to use the park and ride services to Barfield Close, but for those with disabilities or long-term health issues this stop is not close enough.

Covid cases rise steeply again in the Winchester district. The figures are the highest since January with increases in most parts and a doubling in two in the last seven days.

Pictured: Two members of Winchester City Council Animal Welfare team (ends, left & right) with Three Oaks Boarding Kennels staff (center) in Bishops Waltham, Hampshire with the seven puppies which they are currently looking after.....A cyclist was

Pictured: Two members of Winchester City Council Animal Welfare team (ends, left & right) with Three Oaks Boarding Kennels staff (center) in Bishop's Waltham, Hampshire with the seven puppies which they are currently looking after.....A cyclist was

Eight Labrador puppies, abandoned on the South Downs Way near Winchester, are poised to be rehomed in the coming days. Seven of the puppies were rescued by cyclist Rob Carter on the South Downs Way, close to the junction with Rodfield Lane. The eighth was found alone near Alresford Golf Club, three miles away a few days later.

The proposed infilling of a bridge in a village near Winchester is being contested by a charity who want to keep access along the old railway line. The Watercress Way wants to keep the bridge open to allow it, in future, to extend its path along the line which closed in the 1970s.

National Express is looking to resume services to and from Winchester following a backlash when they were cancelled. The coach company will trial one of Winchester’s park and ride car parks as a stop-off for services to and from the city, later revealed to be St Catherine’s.

Winchester University graduates celebrate their success in graduation ceremonies which some had to wait a year for.

NOVEMBER

River Park Leisure Centre; now boarded up

River Park Leisure Centre; now boarded up

REDEVELOPMENT plans for the redundant River Park Leisure Centre site are unveiled. Winchester City Council is working with the University of Southampton, which runs the Winchester School of Art, to help develop plans for an extended campus.

However, the campaign for a lido continues. Campaigners say that the university scheme is not proving popular, with comments on social media concerned about public access, increasing numbers of students and pressure on housing.

Plans are revealed for the future of the former Hyde Newsagency on Hyde Street, one of the last traditional shops in the city. Renovations will be made to the back of the building, but the shop frontage will be kept. More detailed plans will be released in December.

Winchester Cathedral’s Christmas Market will be without its ice rink this year to allow space for social distancing. It will be replaced by a stage for free performances to take place during the market weekends.

Covid cases in Winchester fall significantly.

Two Winchester shops are facing eviction as the city council looks to create an ‘arts and creative hub’. Winchester City Council gives Sunflowers Emporium and Sukee Market until February next year to leave their current locations at Kings Walk, leaving both frustrated and confused by the decision.

Peter Symonds College has plans to redevelop part of its site – five years after it faced backlash over proposals for an art centre. They secure £3.8million in grant funding to construct a new two-storey classroom block near Cranworth Road.

Winchester Hospice

Winchester Hospice

Winchester Hospice thanks those who raised money for the appeal after it opened its doors earlier this year.

The planned smart motorway work near Winchester is temporarily postponed following the raising of safety concerns by MPs.

Tourists flock to the city as Winchester gets into the festive spirit with the opening of the cathedral’s famous Christmas market and the Christmas lights switch-on.

DECEMBER

PLANS continue to progress a major redevelopment of Winchester’s Army training camp, despite the date for its disposal being pushed back another two years. A proposal is currently being developed for Sir John Moore Barracks to create a mixed-use development, with Winchester City Council eyeing up part of the site for a park and ride.

Winchester Prison is taking precautionary measures following a Covid outbreak.

Dougie Covill as Mayor in 1987

Dougie Covill as Mayor in 1987

A former Mayor of Winchester and war hero dies aged 101. Major Dougie Covill MBE DCM was the mayor in 1987-88. Last year the Chronicle covered his 100th birthday and he quipped “it was not a good year to turn 100”.

Civic chiefs are pressing on with their efforts to boost the High Street in Winchester including a light festival in the New Year. They also aim to energise the Busket Lane area at the back of the bus station in conjunction with the revamping of the empty Friarsgate Surgery.

As the Omicron variant has confirmed cases in Hampshire, Covid cases are on the rise in Winchester.

Thief breaking into a car in Itchen Abbas

Thief breaking into a car in Itchen Abbas

A thief captured on film stealing Christmas presents from the back of a car. He was photographed breaking into the vehicle in Itchen Abbas. Soloman Biddle is arrested and will be sentenced at at Winchester Crown Court in the new year.

Residents and business chiefs are becoming increasingly concerned about restrictions on people’s freedoms as Covid cases continue to rise in the district. The manager of St James Tavern said: “The new measures would be a death sentence for the hospitality industry”.

Richard Kempson is jailed for two years after threatening police officers with an imitation firearm.

Father Christmas visited Naomi House and Jacksplace. Image: JLawrence Photography

Father Christmas visited Naomi House and Jacksplace. Image: JLawrence Photography

The year ends with Omicrons levels increasing rapidly and uncertainty over possible restrictions. However, on a lighter note Father Christmas visits young adults using Naomi House and Jacksplace hospices, flying in by helicopter.