THESE are the proposed sites for a massive new car park that Hampshire transport bosses plan to build on the outskirts of Winchester.

The county council wants to open an 800-space car park on farmland on the southern side of Badger Farm Road, as revealed by the Daily Echo last November.

Transport experts say that site two is the best location for causing the least environmental and visual damage.

Site one, Bushfield Camp, was previously the favourite but the council says that its designation in 2004 as a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC) reduced its attractiveness for a car park.

Dozens of people and residents' groups are unhappy about the preference for site two.

Compton and Shawford Parish Council prefers a site on Itchen Farm, nearer junction 11 of the M3, where the contractor's base was sited during the building of the motorway in 1992-94.

The county council argues that the visual impact of that site from across the Itchen Valley would be too great.

However many conservationists assert that park-and-ride is out of date and actually encourages more traffic by offering cheap parking and travel. They say that it deters commuters from using trains and buses.

The council sees the proposed site as a vital part of its transport strategy. It would run alongside the existing park-and-ride at Bar End, which is nearing full capacity.

The public consultation started on June 1 and is ongoing. Exhibitions will be held:

  • Tomorrow (Friday, June 9) parish hall, Pearson Lane, Shawford, 2pm-7.30pm.
  • Monday, June 12 St Maurice's Covert, High Street, 10am-4pm.
  • Tuesday, June 13 senior common room, University of Winchester, Sparkford Road, 10am-3pm.
  • Wednesday, June 14, police headquarters, Romsey Road, 10am-3pm.

A planning application is expec-ted this winter with a decision in 2007. The earliest the park-and-ride could open is spring 2009.