People 'not impressed' with Barton Farm exhibition

11:00am Sunday 3rd February 2013 in News By Wes Rock, Reporter

An artist's impression of the proposed Barton Farm development An artist's impression of the proposed Barton Farm development

CONCERNS over a controversial Hampshire development have resurfaced after artist’s impressions went on public display.

Developer Cala Homes put on a public information day at Winchester’s Guildhall and presented a series of pictures showing how they expect the 2,000 homes at Barton Farm to look.

But a steady stream of concerned residents were worried about the re-routing of Andover Road and questioned whether Winchester could accommodate the amount of traffic the estate will bring.

The artist’s impressions also failed to impress the public.

Robert Wellbeloved, of Orchard Close, said: “They should have put a proper three-dimensional model on display – which is actually fairly common now – so we could really see what it will look like.”

Pensioner Tony Westlake, of Courtney Road, said: “These displays seem like a lot of froth and not much substance to me.”

Many visitors questioned whether the site will turn out as presented in the developer’s pictures.

Vera Bruty, retired, of Manningford Close, said: “This development will not be the way Cala say it is going to be. The one thing I think is really bad is that Barton Farm is going to be an island. It’s hemmed in and there is only one main road that leads out of it. I just cannot see how the people living on that island will get out.”

But a Cala spokesman said they were not necessarily at the stage when they had total plans for people to see. He said: “This is an overview of the outline consent that already exists.”

Work on the designs and the first phase is due to be completed by the end of 2013 and building should begin in early 2014, with the first homes ready by late 2014.

A council report said the scheme is due to take between ten and 15 years to complete.

Comments(15)

elvisimo says...
12:26pm Sun 3 Feb 13

words like "pensioner" and "retired". Who would have thought it. Especially with Winchesters open minded relaxed reputation.

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huckit P says...
12:37pm Sun 3 Feb 13

Concerns over traffic are well founded, and the sarcastic comment previously regarding "pensioner" and "retired" is the lowest form of wit. In fact pensioners and retired people probably have a better idea of how things have been and could have a better idea of how things could be.
Getting back to the traffic and rerouting of Andover Road - this has the makings of a disaster, as anyone frequently caught up in the nightmare that passes for traffic routes in Winchester could testify. It wouldn't take much imagination to provide routes into and out of the new housing scheme, leaving Andover Road exactly where it is.
And by the time this all reaches fruition I will also be a pensioner and retired!

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elvisimo says...
12:41pm Sun 3 Feb 13

huckit P wrote:
Concerns over traffic are well founded, and the sarcastic comment previously regarding "pensioner" and "retired" is the lowest form of wit. In fact pensioners and retired people probably have a better idea of how things have been and could have a better idea of how things could be.
Getting back to the traffic and rerouting of Andover Road - this has the makings of a disaster, as anyone frequently caught up in the nightmare that passes for traffic routes in Winchester could testify. It wouldn't take much imagination to provide routes into and out of the new housing scheme, leaving Andover Road exactly where it is.
And by the time this all reaches fruition I will also be a pensioner and retired!
Another expert who knows more than the planners, highway consultants, the outcome of the impact studies that have been carried out, the works under the associated section 106 agreements. They could have saved themselves a fortune.

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J.P.M says...
2:36pm Sun 3 Feb 13

This whole cunsultation business is a nonsense. Houses need to be built - just get on and do it.

There are too many idle people who think that they know more than planning authorities - and who want to contest plans, just for a hobby.

As Elvisimo says - these people who retire at 60, and who can still see the keyboard, are a blight on the natural progress of our society. Thet have something to prove, and the rest of us are having to tolerate their self-righteous bleating about nothing.

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sparkster says...
3:32pm Sun 3 Feb 13

My husband is retired and he can still see things including keyboard and i assure you he and many others his age are not a blight. I do agree with you that houses do need to be built though

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romsey saint says...
3:49pm Sun 3 Feb 13

Lets be honest no matter what is designed, presented, planned, had consultation, these people will complain. The houses need to be built so stop whinging and except that people need places to live.

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J.P.M says...
3:51pm Sun 3 Feb 13

romsey saint wrote:
Lets be honest no matter what is designed, presented, planned, had consultation, these people will complain. The houses need to be built so stop whinging and except that people need places to live.
We should also ACCEPT it

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mickey01 says...
4:20pm Sun 3 Feb 13

i always find it that the ones who are against the building on green land live in houses that were built on green land years before so where does the argument stand up

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dango says...
4:53pm Sun 3 Feb 13

J.P.M wrote:
romsey saint wrote:
Lets be honest no matter what is designed, presented, planned, had consultation, these people will complain. The houses need to be built so stop whinging and except that people need places to live.
We should also ACCEPT it
so, you knew what 'romsey saint' meant, otherwise you wouldn't have felt the need to go all Grammar Nazi. Maybe you should ACCEPT that not everyone's English meets your high standards.

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huckit P says...
7:55pm Sun 3 Feb 13

elvisimo wrote:
huckit P wrote:
Concerns over traffic are well founded, and the sarcastic comment previously regarding "pensioner" and "retired" is the lowest form of wit. In fact pensioners and retired people probably have a better idea of how things have been and could have a better idea of how things could be.
Getting back to the traffic and rerouting of Andover Road - this has the makings of a disaster, as anyone frequently caught up in the nightmare that passes for traffic routes in Winchester could testify. It wouldn't take much imagination to provide routes into and out of the new housing scheme, leaving Andover Road exactly where it is.
And by the time this all reaches fruition I will also be a pensioner and retired!
Another expert who knows more than the planners, highway consultants, the outcome of the impact studies that have been carried out, the works under the associated section 106 agreements. They could have saved themselves a fortune.
Yes, thank you for pointing that out. They could have saved a fortune and employed local people to do the surveys and employ local people to do the planning. That way they might fully understand the existing problems with traffic to mention just one of the issues.

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derek james says...
9:58pm Sun 3 Feb 13

elvisimo wrote:
words like "pensioner" and "retired". Who would have thought it. Especially with Winchesters open minded relaxed reputation.
pensioners who live locally have a far more accurate picture than the planners with their government targets to meet with no idea how the existing infrastructure can cope, just another example of how the mass immigration under recent governments has blighted the lives of the population of this country

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stay local says...
5:33am Mon 4 Feb 13

Funnily enough the 600 people who marched in Botley were fully supportive of the development plan in Winchester and the Winchester group loved the plans for Botley.

I guess you can never please some people.

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skeptik says...
7:46am Mon 4 Feb 13

A young lad - me, could play on the open fields of Badger Farm Winchester, then they built a shanty town of poorly built houses with a supermarket added. Progress I suppose, the warnings at the time were of an end to an ancient city - it added little but hardly ended it. When growing up many folk lived within the area that was within the old city walls -few do now. Where I grew up my father would say - this was farm land when I was a lad!

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soton-mike80 says...
9:38am Mon 4 Feb 13

Unfortunately older people don't want to see the change to the lands, the younger people embrace the change all too easily and those middle-aged are a mix of the both...

We live in a democratic society so that means everyone has a right (sometimes to my absolute annoyance) to have their say and express their thoughts and opinions.

While the authorities may do all the planning and the approving, sometimes they don't consider every aspect of a development's impact. On the flipside sometimes they do get it right and a lot of intensive debate has hindered the progress.

Funnily enough - if you weigh it all out it tends to balance itself quite nicely. Planners know that uproar will ensue so they have 100% attention to the problem to ensure that things don't go as feared - that way the taxpayers can't say "I told you so"...

When they do get it wrong, the taxpayers say "I told you so" there are then a lot of public inquiries and they get their wrists slapped...

My advice - have your say or don't have your say - either way something will or will not happen! :o)

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Roger Wilko says...
9:36am Wed 6 Feb 13

It's not surprising that the comments quoted were from 'Retired' and 'Pensioner' because the reporter attended the meeting during the day, when the people most likely to be there are those who are not working. Because one is retired does not mean that one's opinion is of less worth or that one is necessarily resistant to change. In any case, a large proportion of councillors are of pensionable age, they are also often too busy to give full consideration to the proposals that are put before them by the officers or do not understand all the issues. Those who are not in full-time employment have the opportunity to do more research and are able to look at the problems from both sides.

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