PROGRESS is again being made on the potentially massive redevelopment of the Station Approach area in Winchester.

Previous plans, which had included large office blocks, had been put into hibernation by legal challenges, councillor revolt and the Covid pandemic.

The city council has been carrying out technical studies, looking at the potential for redevelopment in the area between Newburgh Street, the Carfax site, Andover Road and Worthy Lane.

That has involved talking to other landowners including Network Rail and the Ministry of Defence which owns the cadet force building on Newburgh Street.

READ MORE HERE: Explainer on Station Approach scheme

The Liberal Democrat-controlled city council Cabinet regeneration committee heard that the council had also carried out a successful public consultation last autumn.

More than 1,000 responses were received with local people giving their views on what they want to see. Those views will influence the development brief should the council decide to proceed with the scheme.

Senior council officer Emma Taylor, head of programme, told the committee: "The residents really want the station area to reflect the feel of the history of the rest of the city. It is the first impression and needs to be a welcoming gateway."

Ms Taylor said the feed back showed a clear preference for affordable housing.

Tim Montagu, chairman of the Oram's Arbour Residents Association, told the committee the connection to the High Street should be improved, also revealing the county council was consulting local people about making Sussex Street two-way.

He questioned whether the city needed more offices with many standing empty including Cromwell House on Andover Road which be included in any scheme.

Ms Taylor said the need for new offices was part of the work being undertaken. She said Covid had changed things with more home working and the desire for a different type of office.

Phil Gagg, of Winchester Action on Climate Crisis, said the station was the only place for a proper transport interchange in the city.

Cllr Chris Westwood asked about Network Rail's stance, saying they may want to develop their own scheme, adding "it has got to be joint scheme, to get the greater value of the whole."

City council leader Martin Tod said the authority was taking its time over the project. He told the committee: "There is a reason we are taking a careful approach, to make sure we have the right understanding at the start of the project. The biggest problem previously at Station Approach was the 'brief', so understanding the constraints, challenges and opinions of the public before we start defines what the priorities should be".

SEE ALSO: City council reboots £150 million Station Approach scheme

Senior Conservative councillor Steven Godfrey said: "We didn't ask the public about things they didn't want. Nothing about higher buildings or closed streets. What did the consultation tell us, what was new following the feedback six or seven years ago (for the previous scheme)?"

Ms Taylor said one new issue was many women's feeling of not being safe in the area after dark.

Cllr Paula Ferguson said she avoided walking across the station car park late at night on returning from work in London, going the longer route via the lit tunnel.

Cllr Tod said in a later statement: “The previous project went wrong because the upfront work to properly understand local views hadn’t been done. This time we are taking time to carefully understand what matters to local residents, businesses and visitors right from the start. We are starting this process not with arbitrary targets, masterplans and development proposals, but with people. We want to ensure that we develop a well-informed brief, which reflects how local people use the site and what they want from it, above and beyond the development principles.

"It’s also important we don’t look at the site on its own. As with all regeneration projects, we are looking at the benefits to the city and wider district as a whole.”

The previous schemes were criticised for over-development with large numbers of parking spaces under an office block. A revolt of Tory councillors in 2016 scuppered the first scheme and a second one, valued at £150 million, was given planning permission in 2019 but withdrawn after a legal challenge in the High Court by the City of Winchester Trust.