THE leader of a community action group has said top councillors “dismissed, ignored and avoided” residents when there was a time to actively listen to them over plans to regenerate Winklebury. 

Carlos Morono, the vice-chair of Winklebury Regeneration Review Project (WRRP) group, said residents are disappointed that the recommendations of a scrutiny committee - to continue discussions surrounding the Vivid scheme - were not treated with the importance they deserve.

In a letter to refute the claims of cabinet member for homes and regeneration Cllr Samuel Carr, the WRRP leader said a “once-in-a-generation opportunity to do the right thing and provide adequate healthcare provision for the residents of Winklebury” has been consistently ignored.

READ MORE: Cabinet told to engage with Vivid

Mr Morono said: “Cllr Carr’s previous statement about ‘unaddressed affordable housing in Winklebury’ is a complete joke made worse by the fact that only last year the same cabinet for homes and regeneration saw the building of 133 ‘boutique’ one and two-bedroom apartments in a place where all the required affordable housing could have been located.

“Furthermore, they are only looking to build the bare minimum of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) guidance.”

Mr Morono also said Winklebury residents were robbed of a valuable community building when the new homes were built, and the council and Vivd are using 'a snatch-and-grab tactic again'.

READ MORE: Councillor criticises Vivid for moving ahead despite concerns

“Cllr Carr is rubbing salt in our wounds by reminding everyone that there has been ‘just seven new affordable homes delivered in the ward over the last 15 years’ which he conveniently failed to mention that these were at the expense of robbing the Winklebury residents of a valuable community building.“

Mr Morono expressed his disappointment at the consultation process.

“If you call a drop-in session right at the very start of the project as well as a couple of worthless MS Teams meetings with us and then not acting on any of the learnings gained from them as ‘extensive consultation’ then I guess they’d be right.”

READ MORE: Vivid submits application for 203 homes in Winklebury

Commenting on the points raised by Mr Morono, Cllr Carr said: “As the portfolio holder for housing, I welcome opportunities to provide more affordable homes across the borough. We work with partners in housing associations to encourage them to come forward with schemes that both improve the quality of their housing and increase the number of affordable homes available, as well as bringing other benefits to the community. In response to the motion at council and the scrutiny committee, I reviewed the proposals and engaged directly with Vivid to encourage them to continue to take on board the views of residents and other organisations in the community.

“Now this planning application has been submitted to the council as planning authority, it would not be appropriate for me to comment on it in detail, or any previous planning decisions. The application will now be assessed against planning guidance and policy, including affordable housing requirements. Consideration of community gain will also be part of this process. The consultation period on this planning application is still open and I would encourage residents and community groups to give their views and comments.”

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Jonathan Cowie, chief operating officer at Vivid, said: “We have consulted extensively with councillors, residents, community groups and the public since 2017, to ensure that we designed a scheme that will benefit everyone in Winklebury including the commitment to a scheme of at least 40 per cent affordable homes, compliant with planning policy. Working closely with Basingstoke Council and the Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board (ICB) there are plans to deliver a new health centre, which came as a suggestion from local residents. A new public open space and play area, opening previously inaccessible green space equivalent to six football pitches, and ensuring existing retailers at the Winklebury Centre can continue to trade within the proposed new Winklebury retail hub. On top of this, we’ve included a new community space in our plans, complementary to the existing Sycamore Centre. This was not a requirement of the application but was something consulted residents had hoped for.

“As Hampshire’s largest provider of affordable homes, we hope to increase further the number of affordable homes and are exploring ways as the planning application process progresses.”