The long-running saga of whether development will be permitted on the Barton Farm site in Winchester has today (2nd October 2012) taken a new twist.
CALA Homes have been given permission to develop 2,000 house on the land just off Andover Road, north of the city centre.
The Secretary of State for Communities & Local Government had refused CALA Homes' permission to build in September 2011, over-turning the recommendation of the Planning Inspectorate and backing the earlier decision of local democratically elected councillors but the developer refused to accept this and appealed to the High Court last November.
In spite of the Localism Act being signed into law, the High Court in London ruled that the Secretary of State was acting outside of his powers in refusing permission and ordered him to think again; a process known as 're-determination'.
Today sees the outcome of that re-determination and the Minister has accepted the Planning Inspectorate recommendation, giving CALA Homes' the permission they have sought for almost a decade.
Winchester & Chandler's Ford MP Steve Brine, has been a long-standing and consistent opponent of the Barton Farm development. He spoke after reading the decision letter today;
"This is a bitterly disappointing decision from the coalition Government. CALA homes have very deep pockets and have relentlessly pursued Winchester over many years until they got what they wanted. Because of the Appeal system it was always possible they'd win one day and today it looks like they have.
"I think it was becoming increasingly difficult to save Barton Farm from the moment it was identified a reserve major development area by Winchester City Council in 2004 and a very real problem for campaigners opposed to development was the fact they had to get lucky every time, whereas CALA had to hit the jackpot just once. I want to pay enormous tribute to the Save Barton Farm Group and the thousands of people who continue to support their campaign.
"Assuming Barton Farm is developed, 2,000 houses on this site will in my opinion ultimately make the city a less comfortable place to live. We will get used to it, and not too many years from now we'll no doubt struggle to remember how it looked before, but a special piece of the landscape setting of Winchester will be gone forever.
"As I have always maintained, I will now engage positively with CALA to ensure they live up to their promises and give us the high quality development promised. I will also be keeping very close tabs on the affordable element of the housing to see if it really does deliver new homes for local people and dramatically reduce the council waiting list."
He added that he was seeking an early meeting with Winchester's state secondary heads, as well as Hampshire County Council, to discuss the effect on secondary school places that development on Barton Farm will accelerate.
More information ...
Steve Brine's comprehensive Barton Farm website containing a timeline and links going back more than six years can be found via www.stevebrine.com/bartonfarm.