First of all this month, a warm welcome to new (and returning) students settling into University life this Autumn. There are undoubtedly challenges – of town and gown living side by side – but I think students help make Winchester the young, vibrant place we all enjoy and I know they contribute significantly to our local economy.
It was a pleasure to meet many of them at last weekend’s fresher’s fayre at the University of Winchester where I was a guest of the bustling Conservative Student Society. It is even run by students.
Anyway, Hampshire Chronicle readers will now be aware of the proposal by the multi-millionaire Magnier family to build 6000 houses on land near Micheldever Station.
Many of my constituents will be very angry about this and so am I as I wonder how many versions of no we need to say to large scale development in this stunning rural community.
Of course this country needs new homes but Conservative run Winchester District is more than doing its bit; both through its new council homes programme and a signed off Local Plan. Let’s remember, Micheldever ‘new town’ would be three times as many houses as Barton Farm, a new settlement the size of Petersfield in the Dever Valley.
My message to the developer is this; if you submit these proposals you will face the same united local opposition you did last time and the time before. And my message to Winchester City Council, who I understand must follow due process to the letter as they set about reviewing their Local Plan, is to rule out Micheldever later this year when you get the chance because it’s simply not needed by any measure you or Central Government are working to.
Turning to health and, last week, we heard the CQC report that Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (which runs the RHCH of course) “Requires Improvement”. I dropped in last week to meet with Chief Executive, Alex Whitfield, and while the report is worrying, I don’t think it comes as a huge surprise because of the pressures our emergency department has been under and the ageing building it inhabits.
What we must not do in response is sensationalize the findings or join the dots in a way that draws the wrong conclusions because many dedicated and caring people work at the RHCH and they deserve the space and the support to turn things around.
And finally, thank you to those who have got in touch following my ‘Burkhas and Brexit’ column last month. Clearly things move fast in Brexit town, and we’ve since had Saltzburg, but I haven’t changed my view that it’s the job of Government to do the heavy lifting, no-one voted to be poorer and the Chequers proposal is the only serious one on the table.
In the end, I will support a deal that respects the referendum result and puts practical reality for our economy and our country over theoretical dreamy ideology. My Brexit pages, and that article in full, sit on my new website at www.stevebrine.com/brexit
Steve Brine MP