Hampshire's County Structure Plan
In 1997, the Government appointed a Panel of Inspectors to preside over a review of Hampshire County Council's Structure Plan for 1996 to 2011. The Panel's report recommended that 3,000 new homes would be needed to accommodate people working in Winchester and reduce inward commuting into the City. This new housing was to be built either at an unspecified location north of Winchester, or at Micheldever Station.

On balance, the Panel preferred Micheldever Station because they believed that easy access to the railway station would reduce car journeys into Winchester.  They also envisaged that the development at Micheldever Station might increase to a maximum of 5,000 dwellings after 2011.  However, the Panel did not support Eagle Star’s heavily promoted proposal for a 9,000 home, ‘self-contained’ new town with its centre at Micheldever Station.

In March 2000, the Hampshire Structure Plan for 1996-2011 was adopted by Hampshire County Council, as well as Southampton and Portsmouth City Councils.  The Plan provided for 42,000 homes to be built in the period to 2011, with an additional 14,000 homes if the need is demonstrated. Development at Micheldever Station was once again rejected, with the councils stating that 'there are overwhelming strategic disadvantages to major development at Micheldever Station.'

This was the second Structure Plan in which Hampshire’s local authorities had rejected Eagle Star’s plans for a new town at Micheldever Station.

A changing system
The Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act was passed in May 2004.  The Act transferred responsibility for strategic planning from county councils to regional assemblies, and required each assembly to prepare its own Regional Spatial Strategy.

The South East Regional Assembly's strategy - the South East Plan - is expected to be approved during 2008, after which it will supersede the Hampshire Structure Plan. Until then, key elements of the Structure Plan will remain in force.

• Our other Planning and countryside briefings look at the Housing Green Paper, the South East Plan, and the Winchester Local Plan.
  We have now completed a detailed rebuttal of Zurich/Eagle Star’s proposals.