Winchester City Council facing court action over Silver Hill development scheme

Winchester City Council will now face a judicial review after allowing developer Henderson to propose dropping a bus station and affordable housing from its controversial Silver Hill project.

The legal offensive was launched by city councillor Kim Gottlieb, who said the £165 million scheme would wreck the city centre.

His call for a review was thrown out by the High Court in October but was yesterday reinstated in a dramatic U-turn.

Mr Justice Lindblom ruled that there was an “arguable” case to be made that the council unlawfully allowed Henderson to propose the changes.

Cllr Gottlieb, who leads the Winchester Deserves Better campaign, claims the changes were so significant that the council should have put the scheme back out to tender, allowing other developers to bid for it.

The court had previously ruled that the decade-old development agreement allowed for alterations, something the council maintains.

Cllr Gottlieb said: “To say we, the Winchester Deserves Better campaign, are pleased and relieved would be an understatement.

“I feel a little vindicated we've made better progress this time. This is just the next part of a long battle.”

The judicial review hearing in London's High Court is expected to take place over two days in January 2015. The judge ruled that it should be scheduled as soon as possible to avoid undue delay to justice.

The project will still be determined by planning committee next month.

The city council has set aside £100,000 to defend the case.

City council leader Cllr Rob Humby this month accused Cllr Gottlieb of “undermining the democratic process” by challenging the scheme with alternative proposals.

In a written answer to a question at a full council meeting on November 6, he said: “Unlike Cllr Gottlieb I do not see it as my role to undermine the democratic process by promoting alternatives which have yet to be shown to be feasible.”