Bushfield Camp Consultation
Bushfield Camp Consultation Drop-in
Tuesday, 13 December 2016 – 2:00pm to 7:00pm
Location:
The Middle Brook Centre, Middle Brook Street, Winchester, Hampshire SO23 8DQ
Several consultation events have been arranged this autumn so that local residents and businesses have an early opportunity to feed their thoughts, concerns and suggestions into the process before any plans are prepared.
This community drop in session is open to everyone. You will have a chance to meet the Commissioners and their consultants Deloitte in person.
“Local People Invited to Shape Future of Bushfield Camp” (from reference 1)
A former military site on the southern edge of the city of Winchester, Bushfield Camp still carries the vestiges of its past. The derelict ruins include the camp armoury, blast pens, a firing range and a number of other structures, although the camp has not been in use for over half a century.
The site is allocated for employment land in Winchester City Council’s Local Plan, with the intention of creating new, high value jobs for Winchester’s skilled workforce.
Now, the Church Commissioners for England who own the site are keen to involve local residents and businesses in shaping a future that provides the right mix of development for business need and community enjoyment.
About Bushfield Camp
Bushfield Camp lies just inside the northern boundary of our parish, on the southern edge of Winchester.
From reference 2:
The site comprises approximately 43 hectares, of which approximately 20 hectares were previously occupied by the military camp. It is allocated within the Winchester City Council Local Plan under policy WT3 as an employment site.
Policy WT3 limits the total development area to 20 hectares of land, prioritising the use of the previously occupied area. There is also a policy requirement to secure and lay out for public use the undeveloped part of the site for recreational purposes in perpetuity, while allowing for strategic landscaping.
On Bushfield Down
From reference 7:
Andrew Rutter, ‘Winchester. Heart of a City’ 2009
“Bushfield Down. This is a unique area which, although it does not have any distinctive features, nonetheless by virtue of its elevated position on the west side of the valley plays a crucial part in the setting of St Cross, as well as providing a backdrop to the central conservation area”.
Andrew Rutter was Conservation Officer for Winchester City Council from 1974-1999
A bit of history
The site of Bushfield Camp was requisitioned for military training use before the start of World War II. Building the camp took from May till November 1939 at a cost of £100,000. During the late 1940s, the camp was jointly run by the Rifle Brigade and the King’s Royal Rifle Corps (reference 9).
National servicemen trained here in the 1950s, and the Royal Green Jackets moved in while their barracks in Winchester were refurbished in 1961-1964.
Ownership of the camp returned to the Church Commissioners in the late 1970s.
The Parish Council has been keeping an eye on possible developments on Bushfield Camp since at least 1995 when we launched this website. See, for example, the January 1995 PC Meeting Report or search our site for “Bushfield Camp”.
Suggested uses have included Park and Ride and a Knowledge Park.
The Bushfield Down Supporters Group formed in the early 2000s. They initially sought to preserve public rights of way across Bushfield Down. An application to register Bushfield Camp as a town or village green (TVGA) was taken through the courts before finally being rejected at the Court of Appeal in 2014. If successful, village green status would have preserved Bushfield Camp for recreational use.
As noted above, Bushfield now features in the local plan for development as an employment site.
References
- Community Consultation Event Press Release (pdf)
- Winchester City Council – Planning – Major Sites – Bushfield
- Winchester City Council – Bushfield Camp Viability Study (2009 Powerpoint presentation)
- Derelict Places: Bushfield Army Camp Near Winchester
- Compton & Shawford Open Spaces
- Bushfield Camp, 1980
- Bushfield Down Supporters Group (website last updated October 2012)
- Winchester Military Trail leaflet