Winchester has seen two regeneration projects derailed within 12 months. Claire Robson asks why the historic city has become a minefield for developers and what lessons can be learnt
In July, Winchester City Council sent shockwaves through the picturesque Hampshire city by voting to scupper plans for the £65m council-led Station Approach development.
A design competition produced drawings for the mixed-use scheme close to the railway station incorporating two office buildings, housing, shops and car parks. Yet councillors voted against progressing the project just weeks after cabinet members agreed to appoint Hopkins Architects as preferred bidder.
Silver Hill debacle
The U-turn comes hot on the heels of the Silver Hill debacle, in which local opposition and a High Court battle led to the demise of a city centre regeneration project which had been 20 years in the making. In May, the £150m project incorporating 200 homes, shops, public spaces and a new bus station, was dealt a killer blow when the council terminated its contract with developer TH Real Estate.
Be it nimbyism or a valid rejection of flawed proposals, many argue the delays in delivering new commercial space is putting Winchester’s economic future at risk.
Station Approach would provide Winchester with much needed grade-A office space to help ensure economic growth targets are met and existing businesses remain. The Enterprise M3 Local Economic Partnership has raised concerns about the shortage of available commercial space across the city – a frustration shared by local agents.
Matthew Samuel-Camps, managing partner at Vail Williams, says “There is no new grade-A office availability of any consequence in Winchester. Some 30,000 sq ft of office space has been converted to residential, with the prospect of a further 80,000 sq ft to follow.
“Given that annual office take-up has been below 30,000 sq ft in the past two years, it is hardly an attractive proposition for developers. Station Approach offers a cracking opportunity to bring more space onto the market.”
“If we cannot overcome this inability to make big decisions and deliver significant change, businesses will not be able to expand and will find somewhere else to go,” Stephen Godfrey, Winchester City Council leader
Winchester City Council leader Stephen Godfrey says: “If we cannot overcome this inability to make big decisions and deliver significant change, businesses will not be able to expand and will find somewhere else to go.
“If residents continue to be forced to travel to work outside the district, there is a danger we will become a dormitory town rather than a vibrant economic area.”
Godfrey says the council decided to take on the Station Approach scheme itself rather than waiting for the appetite of private developers to improve.
Research by Vail Williams, commissioned by the council, demonstrated the viability of Station Approach and estimated a 20% return on investment. The agent claims up to 10 potential occupiers have already expressed an interest in Station Approach and believes they would be willing to pay the circa £26 per sq ft required to make development viable.
Yet 19 councillors voted against Hopkins’ designs for the scheme. Concerns raised through the process ranged from issues of scale and design to parking and traffic management.
Council lacks the expertise to bring such projects forward
Conservative councillor Kim Gottlieb insists the council’s procurement process was flawed, questions the viability of delivering new office space at the present time and believes the council lacks the expertise to bring such projects forward.
He says: “The council does not have the development skills needed to make these things happen. It has not had people who understand complex development and you have to get the process right.”
Gottlieb has a track record of challenging major commercial projects in the city and in 2015 won a legal battle against the council over Silver Hill. A High Court judge ruled the council had failed to meet procurement rules.
TH Real Estate took over the Silver Hill project in 2010 after original developer Thornfield went into administration. The council had allowed it to adapt its plans, but had to reverse its decision following the High Court ruling. The developer failed to make the original scheme stack up in a tough economic climate and lack of progress led the council to terminate its contract.
TH Real Estate fund manager Martin Perry says: “It is a real shame because the council has exceptional officers. They tried their hardest but a campaign was mounted against senior officers, making it impossible to move the project through.”
He is not surprised that Station Approach had a rough ride and claims Winchester is a victim of nimbyism backed by powerful and wealthy individuals. Perry says political in-fighting and an “unpleasant undercurrent” has seen a number of council members and officers fall by the wayside. He claims he dealt with five different council leaders while he was involved in Silver Hill.
The council remains determined to press ahead with Station Approach despite the setback. Godfrey says: “We will try to reduce the delay in every possible way and find a way to reach a consensus among councillors about the importance of getting this scheme delivered.”
Prolonged delay could threaten £7.7m of LEP grants
Godfrey hopes to avoid having to launch a new design competition and is conscious that a prolonged delay could threaten its chances of securing £7.7m of LEP grants for public realm improvements and to help make the development financially viable.
A traffic assessment will be completed in October to clarify what impact the design would have on the city and will aim to resolve concerns over parking. In the meantime, the council says it will listen to concerns and attempt to reassure objectors that there will be opportunities to consult and amend if necessary as Station Approach makes its way through planning.
Joe Harvey, principal at Winchester agent Charters Commercial, questions the council’s approach. He says: “The council was right to try to deliver the project itself and secure an income stream, but obstacles have been thrown at it at every stage. Perhaps it should consider selling the land or bringing development forward through a joint venture. It might prove less restrictive.”
Meanwhile, the council is also trying to resuscitate the redevelopment of Silver Hill and is looking to produce a supplementary planning document.
Ironically, Gottlieb has been asked to lead a group to provide a more detailed vision for how the council’s ambitions for Silver Hill can be delivered.
His ideas already seem to contradict the council’s Local Plan Policy WIN4, which states: “The development of Silver Hill is expected to provide substantial improved retail floorspace, which will meet the town’s retail needs up until at least 2021.”
Gottlieb says: “This should be a civic development with much greater focus on public realm. The draw for Winchester is heritage rather than retail.”
He insists that any commercial space should be allocated to small, interesting independents rather than high street names. It seems the council is faced with yet another battle in finding consensus.
Meanwhile, time is being lost in the battle to help Winchester meet its economic challenges. “We need to move with the times and allow Winchester to be a vibrant historic city in a modern world,” says Winchester BID executive director Catherine Turness. “If we cannot address the shortage of office space and meet the needs of retailers and employers, we could lose businesses and enter a period of economic decline.”
The rise of localism
TH Real Estate’s Martin Payne warns that given its poor track record in delivering major projects, Winchester could be shunned by the development community. He says: “The recent focus on localism makes it harder to get development through and appetite is waning for locations where there are these local issues.”
Al Watson, head of planning and environment at Taylor Wessing, agrees that the government’s presentation of localism is causing significant challenges.
He says: “People already have a voice in the planning system, yet localism has given objectors the impression they can stop development as a matter of principle. The idea of living in the same pre-1940 wonderland where everyone frolics across open meadows is nonsense.”
Without taking responsibility for providing the space required to support future economic growth, historic centres such as Winchester also put added pressure on surrounding areas.
Barton Willmore partner Robin Shepherd says: “Winchester is at the centre of a massive district with a lot of development focused in other Hampshire authorities to the south. But is that enough to meet future economic needs?
“There is a lot of housing being developed but we need a grown-up debate about where people are going to work.”
Planning consultants agree that the engagement process needs addressing. Pinsent Masons planning partner, Michael Pocock says: “Developers are having to spend a lot of time ticking boxes pre-application only to have grenades thrown at them through planning. Perhaps the government could help with formalising the process of engagement and consultation.”
What Winchester can learn from Oxbridge
Patsy Dell is all too familiar with the challenges of bringing development forward in historic urban environments. In December 2015 she was appointed head of planning and regulatory services at Oxford City Council after four years as head of planning in Cambridge.
The two university cities have different characteristics, yet both have faced the challenge of reaching agreement among stakeholders on planning policy.
Dell says: “Back in the 1950s when the green belt was established, Cambridge’s planning strategy was to protect itself as a university town and keep its population below 100,000. It resisted development for the next 40 years, with housing growth concentrated in the south Cambridge villages.”
It took until the end of the 1990s for people to accept that this was not a sustainable approach. A city-wide debate eventually led to a new commitment to green belt releases and the availability of land around the city fringe. It still takes time to get major schemes approved, but delivery of projects such as the new mixed-use city quarter CB1 is testament to an outward-looking city.
Dell is now attempting to reach similar consensus among local stakeholders in Oxford. What advice can she give Winchester?
She stresses the need to demand high-quality design which respects the urban landscape. The council has partnered with the Design Council to create the Oxford Design Review Panel – experts whose job it is to help drive up design standards across the city.
She says: “You have got to have a mature debate around protecting heritage but at the same time enabling growth. You need to be strong, facilitate engagement throughout the development process, but be open about the drivers for change. It is about taking the long view and setting the bar as high as you can.”
