DISCUSSION about a new vision for Silver Hill in Winchester has started.

A new committee will shape a fresh vision for the Silver Hill site and met for their first meeting.

It was set to be led by Silver Hill rebel Kim Gottlieb, however he has been suspended after complaints from senior officers.

He watched on for around 10 minutes with councillors and members of the public before leaving.

It followed complaints from senior officers that he had repeatedly publicly criticised them over the huge city centre scheme that his private legal action scuppered earlier this year.

The Central Winchester Regeneration Informal Policy Group have now begun talking about what they want built at Silver Hill and aim to create a supplementary planning document (SPD) for the area.

New chairman of the group and deputy leader of Winchester City Council Victoria Weston said she wants the group to look closely at the 2003 planning brief, which she said she wanted to be a "starting point".

Councillors should look at what they like and dislike about that brief and use that to start the discussion, she said.

However Winchester City Council corporate director Steve Tilbury pointed out that even so it would be useful to use the 2003 planning brief that councillors should be aware that it is outdated in some aspects.

Meanwhile Rose Burns who is an ally of Kim Gottlieb voiced concerns about technical issues.

Cllr Burns said: "Are we starting with a clean slate? Where are we with the 2009 scheme? and the planning consents has that ceased to be, have they passed away? If that's in the background it is going to impinge on quite a lot of things we discuss."

Answering that question Head of Legal Services Howard Bone said:"Clearly work was carried out originally but we have not come to a view whether that was commencement."

Steve Tilbury also pointed out planning applications could be lodged while the SPD is being created, but said since the scheme collapsed last year no developer has come forward.

Cllr Burns added that before plans are created that archaeology studies should carried out to work out what is beneath the site, which she said is likely to contain Roman remains.

Chairman of the group Cllr Weston said Winchester Town Forum could oversee public engagement, which might involve a third party company instead of council officers.

The group agreed they would meet up monthly and they aim to create the SPD by June 2017.