Agenda item

1.    That the updated version of the Development Delivery Plan be approved in accordance with clause 5.2. of the Development Agreement (see paragraph 12 of report CAB3484).

2.    That the Infrastructure Delivery Plan, the Public Realm Delivery Plan, the Phase Delivery Plan and the initial Financial Model be approved in accordance with clause 5.4 of the Development Agreement (see paragraph 12 of the report).

3.    That the ringfencing of £4.5m of CIL receipts be approved, comprising £4m from the District fund and £0.5m from the Transport and Active Travel fund, to be used for exemplary public realm and green/blue and bus/highway infrastructure works in the Central Winchester Area in line with the Development Delivery Plan.

4.    That authority be delegated to the Strategic Director with responsibility for CWR, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Asset Management, to approve amendments to the Development Delivery Plan as the design develops.

5.    That the submission of the Initial Financial Model be noted and that work will continue on this during the detailed design pursuant to a planning application.

Councillor Tod introduced the report and highlighted the importance of scheme in providing new homes, jobs and businesses together with enhanced public realm, green and blue infrastructure and bus and highway infrastructure.  He acknowledged the history of previous proposals in the area and the desire to progress as quickly as possible, but emphasised that it was essential that the right decisions were made at the appropriate time to ensure future success. 

Conrad Ford, Ian Tait and Simon Turpin spoke during public participation as summarised briefly below.

Conrad Ford

Mr Ford expressed concern about the previous time spent considering proposals for the area and any further delays in the implementation of the regeneration.  He believed the council risked being too sensitive to the vocal views of a minority of residents.  He requested that the scheme be progressed as quickly as possible for the long term benefits of Winchester residents.

Ian Tait

Mr Tait concurred with comments made regarding the length of time taken to deliver the redevelopment and get back on track since the failure of the previous Silver Hill proposals.  He remained concerned regarding the indication that the scheme would have a negative land value and the ability to put forward a robust business case.  He also believed that the Friarsgate medical site area should have been developed for residential use pending the beginning of the main regeneration proposals.

Simon Turpin 

Mr Turpin spoke as Asset Manager for Yarrow Estates Ltd, the long leaseholder of The Brooks Shopping Centre since 2023.  He reported that he had a good relationship with Estates Team officers at the council and with the Winchester BID and believed the proposed regeneration was vital to secure the long term viability of Winchester.  He had met with the Jigsaw team and had faith in their ability to deliver the scheme.  He supported the proposed development of a sustainable high quality scheme as soon as possible.

At the invitation of the Leader, Councillors Lee, Godfrey and Bolton addressed Cabinet as summarised briefly below.

Councillor Lee

Councillor Lee queried the potential impact of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill.  He emphasised the importance of the green-blue infrastructure strategy.  He referenced the Manchester Ignition project and queried whether the council should consider a hybrid approach by its consideration alongside the Jigsaw Igloo approach.

Councillor Godfrey

Councillor Godfrey expressed concern about the apparent delays in the scheme progressing and queried what had been achieved and the costs to the council since Jigsaw had been appointed.  He queried when any return on the sums invested by council in acquiring land in the CWR area would be realised and highlighted that the council was losing income every year on vacant property within the scheme.  He asked whether there was an option to cancel the project for lack of action?

Councillor Bolton

Councillor Bolton suggested that economic viability should be specifically mentioned as an objective of the Development Delivery Plan (DDP) to ensure it was effectively monitored.  He expressed some concern regarding the viability of the project and the significant alterations to the modelled outcomes over the last six months.  He understood that the council would only see any return on its investment if the land value became positive and believed it was important that the modelled outcomes were shared with councillors.

Councillor Tod thanked everyone for their comments and welcomed Matt Woolgar from Jigsaw to the meeting to assist with responses.

Councillor Tod, the Director of Regeneration and Mr Woolgar  responded to the comments and questions raised by members of the public and councillors.  In particular, the Director confirmed that the development agreement required that Jigsaw paid the council’s project and procurement costs of the scheme. Mr Woolgar advised that Jigsaw had a consultant team selected and ready to begin work as soon as the DDP had been approved.  It was intended that a planning application would be submitted in early 2026 and a report on the full business case would be submitted to Cabinet around the same time.

Cabinet moved into exempt session to consider the contents of the exempt appendix before returning to open session to consider the report’s recommendations as set out below.

Cabinet agreed to the following for the reasons set out in the report and outlined above.

RESOLVED:

1.             That the updated version of the Development Delivery Plan be approved in accordance with clause 5.2. of the Development Agreement (see paragraph 12 of the report).

2.             That the Infrastructure Delivery Plan, the Public Realm Delivery Plan, the Phase Delivery Plan and the initial Financial Model be approved in accordance with clause 5.4 of the Development Agreement (see paragraph 12 of the report).

3.             That the ringfencing of £4.5m of CIL receipts be approved, comprising £4m from the District fund and £0.5m from the Transport and Active Travel fund, to be used for exemplary public realm and green/blue and bus/highway infrastructure works in the Central Winchester Area in line with the Development Delivery Plan.

4.             That authority be delegated to the Strategic Director with responsibility for CWR, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Asset Management, to approve amendments to the Development Delivery Plan as the design develops.

5.             That the submission of the Initial Financial Model be noted and that work will continue on this during the detailed design pursuant to a planning application.