The latest plans will see the retention and refurbishment of Coitbury House, in Tanner Street, and Kings Walk. In previous schemes both would have been demolished.
Jigsaw by Partnerships & Place are holding drop-in community engagement events. The first of these events will take place on Friday, February 27, at Winchester Guildhall, and Monday, March 2, at the Nutshell Theatre in Kings Walk, before an expected planning application later this year.
These sessions will cover movement and access through the city centre, sustainable transport and the future of bus services, and the vision for public spaces and streets.
Matt Woolgar, development director at Jigsaw, said that gathering feedback “helps the design.”
He said: “We are in the midst of design, so we can listen and hear and include feedback from people. We want to hear people’s thoughts. The images are here to help us visualise spaces, and there are parts which are out of scope (with the scheme).”
The latest plans will see the creation of approximately 250 new homes and 6,000 sq. ft of commercial space, as well as accessible public space and the improvement of pedestrian and cycle routes.
In the initial plans the 1950s Coitbury House, former NHS offices, and 1970s Kings Walk would have been demolished. The sprucing up of Kings Walk, occupied by independent traders, has been considered a success.
Mr Woolgar said that Jigsaw is still “weeks and months” away from submitting a planning application for the first phase, which would be centred around Middle Brook Street.
He continued: “This is not a secret plan; we are keeping everyone in the know. The worst thing we can do is turn up in a few months with a plan (no one has seen) and go ‘ta-da’. The fewer ta-da moments, the better. When the planning application goes in, we would expect that everyone to be clear on it.”
Mr Woolgar said that the plans had not changed too much since the first drafts, saying that the initial supplementary planning document (SPD) was “well thought through”.
He also disagreed with comments that some of the buildings in the drawings look to be of European or Mediterranean design, saying, “It might feel Mediterranean because of the design of the open spaces. I do not see a lot of a Mediterranean influence. Peter Barber (who designed some of the buildings) has a very distinctive style, and I don’t believe he has done any work in Europe.
“We will be referencing the buildings and styles you see in Winchester.”