Winchester City Borough Council Kings Barton Forum Meeting

Apologies were received as noted above.

Councillor Porter declared a personal (but not prejudicial) interest in respect of various agenda items due to her role as a county councillor.

Councillors Tod clarified that he was member of the Forum in his role as a county councillor.

Councillor Cramoysan referred members to the letter Councillor Tod (as Leader of the City Council) had sent to County Councillor Heron regarding Winchester Avenue and other highway matters relating to Kings Barton.  The letter had been published with a supplementary agenda for the meeting and would be subject to further discussion under item 8 below.

Councillor Cramoysan announced that all ward councilors had been briefed by National Highways regarding the current proposals for improvements to Junction 9 at Winnall.  

Kings Barton Residents’ Association (KBRA)

Mike Slinn outlined the various matters arising as set out in the notes circulated prior to the meeting from the KBRA, including their meeting with Cala.  The notes were available on the Council’s website here.

Mr Slinn commented that Cala’s exhibition on the neighbourhood centre was welcomed but as it was only open to the public for four hours its reach was limited.  Nigel Palmer (KBRA) suggested that the availability of the online consultation be re-advertised and the period for consultations be extended.

Councillor Cramoysan thanked Mr Slinn for the notes but clarified that the future governance options referred to were just possible scenarios referred to in the discussion and not formal options for future consultation.

Mr Hill advised that the purpose of the recent consultation was to ensure residents were informed regarding the scope of changes.  An exhibition had been held on site with Cala representatives available to answer questions.  In addition, comments could be made until 21 October via the following website:

www.calaplanning.co.uk/kingsbarton

The next planning application to the City Council would be for phase 2B in late 2022/early 2023 and once approved, more detailed designs for the centre would be made and the public would have a further opportunity to comment.

Councillor Cramoysan highlighted that depending of the timing and outcome of discussions with the County Council regarding Andover Road and wider highway issues, it might be necessary to schedule an additional meeting early in the new year.

RESOLVED:

             That the date of the future meetings of the Forum be noted as follows: 14 March 2023.

Councillor Cramoysan noted a correction to the minutes to clarify that there was not currently a meeting scheduled for January and depending on resources available, an update on the governance review would therefore be submitted to the March meeting.

i)       Cycle/Footpath network within and across Kings Barton   

Ian Curry (Cala) provided an update on the condition of the footpaths which had caused concern and confirmed that the final improvements required would be carried out the following week.  Councillor Porter provided an update with regard to the second path referred to.

ii)            Phased delivery (information on proposals for timing of phased delivery and provision of plans/drawings indicating connectivity)

Councillor Cramoysan advised that he and the vice-chair had held a useful meeting with representatives of Cala homes and relevant city council officers with the aim of improving the authoritative information available to both the Forum and public in general.

Viv Hill (Cala) stated that he had now provided the design code for all play areas expected to be provided across the site.  Councillor Cramoysan confirmed he would liaise with officers to ensure information provided was easily available.

iii)           Winchester Avenue

Councillor Cramoysan suggested that this be an agenda item for the March Forum meeting.

iv)           Local Plan

Councillor Cramoysan stated that he had received officer’s advice that this would not be an appropriate subject for future Forum meetings as there was already an alternative governance process in place for consultation on the emerging local plan.

RESOLVED:

            That the minutes of the previous meeting held on 12 July 2022 be agreed as a correct record.

Councillor Cramoysan drew the Forum’s attention to the recent petition submitted by KBRA to the County Council regarding the proposed closure of Andover Road and the response received from Councillor Heron (HCC) as available here.

At the invitation of the chair, Mr Slinn (KBRA) advised that he had met with County Councillor Heron who had reiterated his published response.  His understanding was that Councillor Heron would make contact with the KBRA, Cala and the City Council to arrange a meeting between all four parties to take discussions further.

During discussion, some councillors commented that the response from the County Council (HCC) focussed on the planning application process but did not mention the role of HCC in deciding on highway matters.  It was also noted that as part of the S106 agreement with the developer, HCC had received significant funding towards necessary improvements to other local roads impacted by the development which remained largely unspent.

Some comment was made that it was not appropriate to consider the future of Andover Road in isolation and a more wide ranging “North Winchester Movement Strategy” was required which could examine the road network in the area, as well as the impact of any future development at St John Moore’s Barracks.  This should be led by the County Council, with significant input from the City Council.  Councillor Cramoysan agreed that the situation be kept under review.

Ian Curry (Cala) provided an update on progress on play areas within the development.

Naomi Arnold introduced the report and responded to questions thereon.

In response to questions, Councillor Porter (in her role as County Councillor) provided an update on how the bus subsidy had been spent to date on a trial taxi bus service.  It was requested that a report be submitted to the next Forum meeting on provision of a bus service to the development.

Councillor Porter also provided an update on the work at Wellhouse Lane bridge and the work to install a puffin crossing on Andover Road.