Winchester
| NEWS |  | | | | OTHER SPORT | | | CINEMA | | |
|
|
|
Former councillor's home to be redeveloped
THE former deputy chairman of Winchester's planning committee is selling her house for redevelopment.
Anne Saunders, who lost her St Barnabas ward seat on May 1, plans to start a new life in Italy.
It comes after she agreed a divorce with her husband, Alan, in late 2006 that stipulated their house would be sold.
The property is in Chilbolton Avenue, one of Winchester's most sought-after streets.
It has proved popular with developers in recent years, with firms bulldozing large houses to create several smaller properties. Some residents have also sold their gardens, despite objections from neighbours.
With Mr and Mrs Saunders selling, the developers have moved in again.
Durley-based Drew Smith Homes is set to acquire the property and hopes to buy a neighbouring house too.
It has already demolished two houses to the other side of the Saunders' residence, and is now poised to own four successive plots.
It is building 11 homes on the site it already owns, and hopes to put 11 more on the two extra plots.
Gregg Joslin, director of Drew Smith Homes, said: "We've been working on the new plans for months, and we've had various negotiations with the planning department, and held a public consultation.
"I firmly believe that what we're trying to do with this part of Chilbolton Avenue is actually improving the character of the street, with more family housing than before."
Mrs Saunders said her decision to move was due to her divorce, not the spate of redevelopment in Chilbolton Avenue.
She added that the Orange phone mast that she protested against in Byron Avenue, which backs onto her property, was not the cause either.
After losing her city council seat, she said there was nothing to stop her leaving Winchester, and she planned to move to Umbria in Italy later this year.
She said: "I have missed the planning committee and I really enjoyed being on it, but that was another phase of my life. I love Winchester, and I've really enjoyed my Winchester years.
"I'm now planning to move to Italy to restore a house. I might turn it into a bed and breakfast, but I won't be joining the local council there!"
The plan to redevelop her house, submitted in the name of Mr and Mrs Saunders and Drew Smith Homes, is being considered by the city council. A decision is expected within a few weeks.
8:50am Sunday 29th June 2008
Print 
Email this 
CommentPosted by: roger slade, winchester on 6:07pm Mon 30 Jun 08
Typical of a developer to state that he is improving what was the nicest street in Winchester until they moved in. None of this would have happened if the previous LibDem council had applied PPG3 correctly and had the courage to resist the developers. It is too late now and Winchester has lost one of its finest assets but I doubt whether Mrs Saunders will find planning in Italy to convert her new house into a B&B very easy as they tend to preserve their heritage.
Typical of a developer to state that he is improving what was the nicest street in Winchester until they moved in. None of this would have happened if the previous LibDem council had applied PPG3 correctly and had the courage to resist the developers. It is too late now and Winchester has lost one of its finest assets but I doubt whether Mrs Saunders will find planning in Italy to convert her new house into a B&B very easy as they tend to preserve their heritage.
Posted by: Stephen, Ex-Winchester on 4:27pm Wed 2 Jul 08
Roger Slade is right, the previous Lib Dem administation allowed Winchester to go so downhill is un-believable, just as McBroon has done with the rest of the UK.
Roger Slade is right, the previous Lib Dem administation allowed Winchester to go so downhill is un-believable, just as McBroon has done with the rest of the UK.
What are these links for?
If you liked this article and would like to share it with others on the web who might be searching for good content we've made it easy for you to do it.
At the bottom of all articles, you'll see links to six sites. These sites - commonly called 'social bookmark' or 'social news' sites - have large communities of web users who share and rate interesting, useful and fun things on the web.
Clicking the links will automatically add the address of the story you are reading to one of these sites, letting you share it with others. Each site will ask you to register to share stories. Registration is free and once a member, you can store, recommend and search for stories that interest you.
More on Digg
More on del.icio.us
More on Furl
More on reddit
More on NowPublic/
More on Yahoo!
