Following the Chronicle series of features on the proposed building of 2,000 homes at Barton Farm, Winchester, the Chronicle has now invited some of the key players and figures to have their say. The first statement is from Cala Homes, prospective developers of Barton Farm.

TOUGH planning decisions on where to build many hundreds of houses have to be made in the long term interests of all the people living and working in Winchester.

And time is no longer on the side of the City Council. As for many councils in the south of England, coping with the demand for more housing for local people is a real and pressing priority. Housebuilding is at its lowest level for 75 years. As a direct result, prices have risen sharply in the past few years.

More than 33,000 people work in Winchester. Less than half of them live in the city. In other words, thousands of people commute into Winchester, most by car, every working day. Some prefer to live elsewhere and put up with traffic jams. Many more might prefer to live closer to work if only they could find the right accommodation.

Urban infill is not always the right answer

Government guidance encourages the development of previously used or brownfield land and infill urban sites such as back gardens and parking lots before development on open or greenfield land. Cala Homes strongly supports this principle. All its current construction work in the South-East is on brownfield land.

If Winchester had enough derelict factory land and urban back gardens to meet its future housing needs we would not be debating the issue of a greenfield MDA, but it hasn't. And there is growing awareness that urban infill is not always the right answer. Apart from the need to protect Winchester's rich architectural heritage, the loss of so many small open spaces affects the character of urban neighbourhoods to the detriment of people living there.

Barton farm is the most sustainable site

Barton Farm sits in the narrowest point of the triangular wedge of the Winchester North area of search, the point touching the edge of the city. It is an urban extension, the logical place in planning and transport terms for housing on a large scale. It is so close to the city centre that people could walk or cycle into the centre. Efficient public transport would be provided, further easing pressure on the local road network. No other part of the area of search offers such an opportunity. Alternatives are more remote, more prominent and would do little to reduce the use of the car. On every count. Barton Farm is the most sustainable site.

New community with wider benefits for all

Barton Farm would be a distinctive and compact new urban quarter, forward looking in the use of materials and design, and complementing the best of the city's urban landscape. It would be as self-sufficient as possible, incorporating a local centre with shops, primary school, pub, health and dental surgeries and other community facilities.

Winchester's housing needs would be met through a range of house types, sizes and tenures, including a significant amount of affordable housing. Only an MDA is large enough to make a substantial reduction to housing waiting lists and to provide accommodation for key-workers.

The wider community would have access to new recreation and leisure facilities. Sports pitches at Barton Farm would help to alleviate the shortage of playing fields in Winchester. Cala also proposes that up to 80 acres of land east of the railway line be designated a country park, for informal open space, so preserving the gap between Abbott's Barton and Headbourne Worthy.

Barton Farm is a challenging and exciting project. Its success will depend on co-ordinated planning, innovative thinking, input from the local community and long term support from all involved. Cala will be consulting neighbouring residents, interest groups, and the voluntary sector as well as the councils and service providers in the near future.