Winchester council has no concerns over High Street health

The subject was discussed at a full council meeting in response to a question asked by a member of the public.

Philip Hutchinson, of St Swithun Street, asked what the council is doing to align the city’s commercial offerings with the needs of its residents, saying that, while the shops in Winchester serve tourists well, residents need to go outside the city to access national brands.

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Cllr Lucille Thompson visiting the Winchester jobs fair 2023 (Image: Winchester City Council)Cllr Lucille Thompson, cabinet member for business and culture, said: “Until September 2020, the council was able to take a really strong line on controlling the profile of shops on our high street through the planning process. Unfortunately, in that month, the government passed a regulation to change the rules of change of use classes, so a shop could change to a cafe, or vice versa, without the need for planning permission.

“So, if the owner of Debenhams, which is Surrey County Council, decides to replace the shop with three restaurants, there is nothing legally we can do to stop them. But we try to influence the situation; both the city council and Winchester BID keep vacant property registers and we actively try to ensure we stay close to the views of the business community.”

Cllr Thompson added that Winchester has 99 national chains in the city centre, as well as a large independent sector.

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She added: “Our plans for central Winchester will allow our high street to thrive. Every high street is changing; especially with internet shopping. Given these pressures, Winchester High Street is one of the best performing in the country with only a five per cent vacancy rate and consistently high footfall. We need to celebrate this and do what we can to ensure this remains the case.”

Cllr Thompson went on to say that, despite the controversy over the new parking charges introduced last year, the council has not seen any adverse effects on footfall in the city centre.

She also added that the market contract is currently up for tender and that other sorts of markets may be making their way to Winchester when a new market operator is appointed.