Winchester - Meeting young people across the district

We’ve been out and about across the district, gathering ideas from people of all ages about what they’d like to see in the regenerated area. Recently, we’ve enjoyed interactive sessions with Winchester-based Brownies, Guides, and Rangers, who produced some wonderfully creative drawings. Additionally, a workshop at Bella Crafts saw Year Six students from St Swithun’s modelling their visions for the City out of plasticine. We also visited South Wonston primary school (pictured.)

The recent demolition of Friarsgate Medical Centre has been captured in a timelapse video. The video provides a fascinating insight into the early-stage transformation of the most prominent city centre development site in Winchester and can be viewed at: https://youtu.be/IIDUhQU90cs

Work to demolish the former Medical Centre began last autumn.

Work is now starting on a range of early improvement work – while longer-term plans are developed – to improve public access and enjoyment of the open space on the site and allow for important archaeological works too.

The design will be led by an award-winning team including Henley Halebrown and Peter Barber Architects

Jigsaw by Partnerships & Places – development partner to deliver the Central Winchester Regeneration (CWR) project has unveiled the team that will collaborate with Winchester City Council to help implement a long-term placemaking solution for the city centre as well as the wider region.  

The partnership has now revealed its stellar design team led by Henley Halebrown, the Stirling Prize-shortlisted architectural practice, and Peter Barber Architects, one of the UK’s leading urbanists as the Lead and Housing Architect respectively. They will be working alongside other architects, urban designers, engineers, landscape architects, sustainability experts, and specialist archaeologists on the CWR proposals.

Reflecting an ongoing and extensive public engagement and community consultation process, the Jigsaw team will be working in partnership with the council to transform the historic city centre, delivering a diverse mix of uses, including independent food and retail spaces, flexible workspaces, creative hubs, sustainable homes, and vibrant public spaces.

Jigsaw by Partnerships & Places is a partnership between Genr8 Kajima Regeneration Limited (Kajima and Genr8 Developments) and igloo Regeneration with Thriving Investments (part of the Places for People group). The partnership is dedicated to optimising social and economic value by collaborating with local people and businesses throughout and beyond the duration of projects.

Winchester City Council’s vision for CWR is for a sustainable, pedestrian-led quarter with a mix of uses defined by attractive public spaces, reflecting the distinctive character of the city centre.

The development will better connect the regeneration site including Kings Walk, Friarsgate and the bus station to the wider city and district. It will respond to local housing demand for people of all life stages through a range of tenures, which will support the retention of local people, their skills and talent in the city whilst attracting new innovators and entrepreneurs.

John Long, executive director at igloo, added: “igloo, Thriving Investments and Genr8 Kajima coming together as Partnerships & Places creates a powerful and innovative new regeneration vehicle in the UK responsible real estate sector. We recognised in joining forces for Winchester that together we could offer a compelling investment and development proposition tailored to the needs of the city and to the multifaceted project. Now a year into successfully working together, I am confident that we’ll be collaborating on many more future projects around the UK.”
Oliver Barker, senior development manager at Genr8 Kajima Regeneration, said: “It’s an exciting opportunity to collaborate with such renowned specialists as Henley Halebrown and Peter Barber alongside a forward-thinking local authority with a real vision for what they want to achieve for their residents. Good design is at the heart of our plans for the city centre, and by creating attractive and comfortable living and working spaces, we can ensure that the rejuvenated city will become a desirable place for people of all ages.”

Cllr Martin Tod, Leader of Winchester City Council said: “Jigsaw have put together such a fantastic team.  One of the reasons we were so keen to work with them was the quality of partners they wanted to bring to the project.  It was great to meet everyone on the team and gives me even more confidence that our partnership with Jigsaw will give our ancient city the strong future we all want for it.”

Following a series of Meet & Greet events across the district in recent months, the Jigsaw team were out and about this half-term at various venues across the city including The Arc, Winchester Leisure Centre and at the Glowing Galaxies experience at Kings Walk and Middle Brook Street.

Here’s what they said:

‘”We met lots of young people with great ideas. All those that visited our ‘Ideas for Winchester’ pop-up stand were asked to draw a picture on a postcard of what they would like to see as part of the regeneration of this area of the city. And the results were fantastic…ranging from eco fashion to healthy food, board game cafés to rock climbing!”

Ideas – from people of all ages – are being collected by the team and will help inform designs.

The archaeological dig undertaken by PCA Archaeology at four trenches behind the bus station and at Coitbury House has now finished. Among the fascinating finds were a barrel padlock key in a Saxon pit and 12th-century Romanesque sculptures. Finds range from different historical eras including Roman, Anglo-Saxon and Medieval and are now all being analysed by a team of experts with a full report due back later this year!

Have you visited Kings Walk recently? Work to refresh Kings Walk took place late last year, including the launch of a new website for businesses based there.

The Kings Walk Festival, held on 30 September 2023, proved a huge success. It showcased the refurbished and more welcoming area and the eclectic blend of businesses that operate there. The day was filled with opportunities for the public to try various activities from craft through to pilates, as well as sample delicious food and watch/listen to musical performances and DJs. Since the event, there has been an increase in footfall to the area. Here’s a little snapshot of some of the businesses:

South Downs Social achieved their highest day of sales during the festival and have now opened their upstairs area. This has created more café space and resident artists’ workshops. They have hosted a variety of events and groups and have a busy event schedule planned for spring and summer. They are now regularly exceeding their festival day sales record.

The BellaCrafts Tea Rooms & Craft Centre have been extremely busy with the recent expansion of their craft shop. Footfall has increased which has also seen their opening hours extended. As always there’s a buzz around their workshops and events with Easter experiences, themed menu treats and jazz afternoons planned for future dates. They’ve even introduced a popular Painting & Pizza evening on Fridays!

Winchester Pilates had fantastic feedback from members of the public who toured their studio and tried free, pop-up classes during the festival. They are excited about their relaunch this Easter with a new look and website. They are also launching expert-led sessions in nutrition, osteoporosis, physio & rehab and monthly Beginner Reformer Workshops.

Sustainable fashion brand The Well Worn had a busy festival day and continue to host their successful workshops. They are now stocked in Percy Langley’s two London stores and are getting closer to their goal of one tonne of fabrics and garments reused. So far, they have remade, reworked and reused 782kg of vintage garments, antique fabrics and deadstock fabrics. To make this fabric would have used up 18,000,000 litres of water (enough to keep the average UK household going for 85 years!).

Following the Kings Walk Festival, The Nutshell Arts Centre continued to have an incredible autumn/winter season where they welcomed people of all ages through their brand-new door. This culminated in the Alternative Christmas Makers’ Market which had over 2,500 attendees. Moving into the New Year, they launched a new monthly evening Jazz Club and lunch time Jazzbops concerts and have a full spring/summer programme including their regular comedy club.

Work to improve and refresh the Kings Walk area of Winchester has been completed. Before and after photographs show how the works have helped transform this part of the city centre into a vibrant and more attractive space for residents, shoppers, commuters and visitors where they can meet and relax.

The upgrade includes integrating the Nutshell theatre with the Kings Walk Arcade, improving the appearance of the façade and entrance along Silver Hill and enhancing existing open spaces.

In addition to creating a courtyard area – the ‘Courtyard Garden’ – with seating shared between Kings Walk traders and the Nutshell theatre, the improvement work also included:

Improved and consistent signage and wayfinding throughout Kings Walk;
New illuminated shop signage and improvements to the lighting;
New planters and planting around the Middle Brook Street and Silver Hill entrances as well as in the new courtyard area;
Repainting of brickwork and replacement of doors to the rear entrances of shops.

The thinking behind the improvement works comes from a collaborative design team including Studio Multi (architects), to-studio (landscape architects), Light Follows Behaviour (lighting designers) and Tim George (graphic designer) – has been to introduce a new visual identity to the area.

The early improvement works at Kings Walk have been carried out in advance of wider-ranging proposals for Central Winchester Regeneration which Winchester City Council is delivering with its development partner, Jigsaw Consortium.

Cllr Martin Tod, Leader of Winchester City Council, said: “It’s fantastic to see the early improvement works completed for Kings Walk. Studio Multi’s work has been transformational, creating a vibrant and attractive space for the businesses and visitors to the building and surrounding area. We’re committed to regenerating this part of the city and supporting the independent businesses based in Kings Walk. Studio Multi’s design has helped us do both.”

Neil Wyatt – owner of The South Downs Social café in Kings Walk said: “We’ve always seen the potential of this area of town – all it needed was a bit of love. All the Kings Walk businesses have worked hard to help the area grow and improve in their own way, while the painting, planting and place-making from Winchester City Council and Studio Multi has really helped bring everything together. The area has been transformed over the past year or two and is now a vibrant, thriving part of the city centre. We can’t wait to celebrate the new Kings Walk at this weekend’s Festival!”

Nicola Rutt, Director of Studio Multi, said: “This project has sought to transform the previously tired and uninviting open spaces of Kings Walk by creating a more vibrant and animated focus for traders, shoppers, and visitors to Winchester. “The Arcade has a mix of independent, creative businesses and our design approach recognises the importance of enhancing the environment of Kings Walk in the same spirit.”

Kings Walk is home to an eclectic mix of thriving independent shops, cafés and businesses including Bellacrafts, Design Junction, Open House Deli, Polka Dot Piercing, The South Downs Social, The Well Worn, Handmade Studio, The Nutshell, Winchester Pilates and Sunflowers Emporium. The newly revitalised space is the backdrop to the first Kings Walk Festival which takes place on Saturday 30 September, 10am-5pm.

As we begin the process of preparing designs, we have been excited to meet and listen to people living across the Winchester district so that we can shape the proposals for the site together.

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Members of the public wishing to share their thoughts and opinions on the Central Winchester Regeneration development are being invited to attend drop in sessions in locations across the district with Winchester City Council’s development partner, Jigsaw (Partnerships & Places) over the coming months.

The meet-and-greets are a chance for Jigsaw to listen to the thoughts and hopes of those interested in the future regeneration of the city, and understand opinions ahead of any initial designs being developed.

These sessions form part of an initial period of listening and discovery with local residents, businesses and other local organisations.

With over 2000 year’s worth of history, experiences and stories to understand, Jigsaw is taking the next few months to learn about what matters to the community and those living in the wider district.

Upcoming dates include:

Wednesday 4 October 4-7pm Kings Worthy Jubilee Hall
Wednesday 18 October 4-7pm Meadowside Leisure Centre, Whiteley
Wednesday 1 November 4-7pm Colden Common Community Centre
Wednesday 15 November 1-4pm Alresford Community Centre
Wednesday 29 November 2pm – 5pm The Arc, Winchester
Wednesday 13 December 4pm-7pm Winchester Sport and Leisure Park

Speaking about the sessions, Leader of Winchester City Council Cllr Martin Tod said:

“We deliberately chose a development partner to regenerate Central Winchester who was committed to working with the people of Winchester to make the project succeed.

“It’s such an exciting opportunity to transform the rundown parts of our centre – bringing homes for local families and jobs for local people – while sensitively reflecting our city’s setting and heritage.

“I really hope that anyone interested in joining in will get involved.”

Jigsaw Development Director Matt Woolgar said:

“Building meaningful, sustainable communities is at the heart of what we do and the meet and greets planned will help us to understand further the businesses, communities and residents that make Winchester so special.

“I look forward to meeting people face to face and to hearing opinions and hopes for the future of Winchester.”

Members of the public wishing to share their thoughts and opinions on the Central Winchester Regeneration development are being invited to attend one-to-one meet and greets with Winchester City Council’s development partner, Jigsaw over the coming months.

These sessions form part of an initial period of listening and discovery with local residents, businesses and other local organisations.

The first session will take place on Wednesday 6 September at the South Downs Social, with 30-minute timeslots available for booking between 3pm and 6pm.

Subsequent meet and greets will then take place every other Wednesday, from 20 September to 13 December.