WINCHESTER countryside campaigners have formed a new alliance to fight plans for local new towns.

Three Winchester campaign groups have united to oppose building new towns as a way of delivering housing targets.

The Countryside Charity CPRE Hampshire, Save South Winchester Campaign Group (SSWCG) and the Dever Society are urging Winchester City Council to reject building new towns in their new Local Plan.

The city council published ‘Your Place Your Plan: Strategic Issues and Priorities Consultation’, the first opportunity for Winchester residents to have their say on the new Local Plan, the blueprint for development until 2038. New towns are one of four housing options proposed.

For 30 years campaigners have fought against Micheldever New Town and now Royaldown, a proposal for farmland between Oliver's Battery and Hursley. A protest petition has attracted more than 4,000 names.

SSWCG chairman Chris Beddoes said today: “We all understand that Winchester district will need to build new homes in the next 15-20 years, but we believe that there is a better and more environmentally friendly option than large scale development or new towns filling the green space between settlements. We hope that Winchester District residents will agree and make their views known in the consultation.”

Dever Society chairman Tessa Robertson added: “All three groups agree that building new towns on green fields is the worst of the four options proposed in the paper. New towns should have no place in Winchester’s thinking”.

Ms Robertson told the Chronicle: "There is a feeling that Winchester has taken enough development and it would be better if it goes somewhere else. We can't feel complacent about Micheldever. This is the first time the three groups have got together."

A virtual demonstration has been organised by SSWCG for this Sunday, February 28, at Noon. To book a place to hear more on https://sswdemo.eventbrite.com.

The three groups believe that brownfield, already used or built on land should always be used for development before greenfield sites.

The groups are working on their responses to the consultation and will share their thinking by the end of March, in good time for the deadline on April 12.

Caroline Dibden, vice-president of CPRE Hampshire, said: “We think there is a better alternative option which focuses firstly on brownfield and previously developed land in the larger settlements. This would meet the Council’s own aspirations to minimise the district’s carbon footprint, something we all support.”