DEPENDING on the political will of the new Labour government the face of Hampshire could be set for the greatest changes in decades.
The government wants to kickstart house building and return it to levels last seen in the 1960s and 1970s.
For Winchester district that could mean an increase in the number of new homes of more than 60 per cent under revised targets. The number of homes needed per year has gone up from 676 to 1,099, an increase of 423, or 62 per cent. Councils in England would be given mandatory targets to help contribute to the overall number of 370,000 new homes to be built each year across the UK.
The city council has brought forward important meetings to discuss the issue next week.
It has already earmarked Sir John Moore Barracks in the new local plan for around 1,000 homes but if Labour sees through its ambitions there will have to be other sites back in the spotlight. This will include South Winchester Golf Course, Pitt Vale and even the ludicrous ‘Royaldown’ scheme between Winchester and Hursley. Also worried will be people in the Micheldever area who have been battling plans for a new town since the late 1980s.
Of grave concern for local decision-making will be the potential for central government to impose planning decisions on local communities.
But the threat to the countryside has been overblown. The population of the country is growing, people are living longer, getting divorced, immigrants are moving here. More houses have to be built. We saw major house building in the 1950s to the 70s which saw Winchester grow in size with new estates such as Winnall, Weeke, Harestock and Badger Farm. They didn’t ruin Winchester, it just got bigger. It looks like after little growth since the 1980s we are going to have to get used to a larger Winchester.