I am writing about the development of approx. 10 dwellings, constructed possibly five or 10 years ago, at the bottom of Stanmore Lane, on the right, just before the railway bridge.  I first noticed these properties during lockdown, when I was recovering from hip replacement, and walking around the area.  At that time, I believe the development was virtually complete, but vandals had started to break all of the windows which they could see, and the complete area was padlocked.  I imagine that the developers went bankrupt at that time, and the entire site continues to be locked up, and no work is being undertaken.

I would have hoped that Winchester City Council could establish the facts regarding the development and put those 10 dwellings to good use.  Surely an offer to the developers, or their receivers could be made, when the site could be opened up, the houses and flats refurbished, and 10 families housed.  It would be better that the council commenced the work, for the benefit of the City, rather than another developer being involved, and I would have thought that an offer of £1m - £2m for the entire site would have been useful for the receivers in settling some of the bankrupt company’s debts.  If the properties were then refurbished, at a cost of, say £100,000 - £150,000 each, the resulting completed development would become a useful addition to the City’s housing stock.

The site is currently a complete eyesore, occupying as it does a scrap of land between an electricity sub-station, the main railway line, and the edge of the Badger Farm estate. 

R F Young,

Barley Down Drive,

Badger Farm