YOU REALLY do have a unique opportunity in your hands and I hope you are able to listen to the suggestions from the ‘Winchester deserves better’ campaign.

Professionally I am sure you will all agree we have certain skills we are good at.

Rarely is anyone good at everything, although I have come across people who think they are good at everything and the results of their decisions are often less then they could have been, if they listened to those with skills in specific areas.

I really do think this applies to Silver Hill and how to implement the consultation results.

Please do not hand over the whole area to one developer.

This really would be like saying they have all the answers.

I am sure you all appreciate their ultimate goal is to make shareholders happy or to make money.

We need to have people in place who are engaged with the overall picture and whose motivation is the best for Winchester.

But most importantly have a skill set which mean they can ensure the keys issues (bus station, archaeology, waterways) are looked after before working out what is over all plan.

Work it out yourselves or put in place a citizens committee.

Be creative in your decision making and forward looking, and employ those with the specific skills needed for specific problems.

“A more coherent way to proceed would be for the council to retain control and to engage an experienced master planner and others to progress the SPD, or to pass the effort to a Community Development Corporation/Trust.

This has been a success in many other places.”

Penny Lydon

Winchester