Sir John Moore Barracks Stage 1 Consultation - December 2020

This stage 1 consultation material has been prepared by the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) with regards to the Sir John Moore Barracks, Winchester.

The Site forms part of the Defence Estate. The ability of the Armed Forces to keep Britain safe and prosperous depends on a Defence Estate that enhances military capability. While in many areas the estate is used efficiently, overall it is too big, too expensive and has too many sites in the wrong locations. In November 2016, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) announced a 25-year strategy to modernise the Defence estate to support future capability requirements. This identified Sir John Moore Barracks for disposal, and the site will be vacated on a phased basis between 2022 and 2024. The decision to dispose of the site was made following extensive consideration by the military. It is a site that is expensive to operate and maintain, and the receipts it will generate will be reinvested to support a modern, better, fit for purpose estate for our armed forces. The DIO is in the process of progressing a new vision for the Site which is shown in this consultation. This outlines how it will be developed in the future, and will identify the mix of housing and other land uses which could be delivered there. Nationally, the Government is committed to deliver new housing to meet overwhelming need, but also to ensure that the quality of new developments are of the highest quality through guidance such as ‘Living with Beauty’ published in January 2020. Covid19 has also highlighted the importance of green spaces and local amenities to communities. The DIO is supported by a team of technical consultants, to develop a masterplan and vision for the site, and to progress this through to a planning application. The core team includes: Avison Young - Town Planning Planit-IE Ltd - Masterplanning Capita - Environment and Technical We are currently at the initial stages of the masterplan design process, and invite the public and stakeholders from the local area to participate in these initial conversations regarding how the Site should be developed and what issues should be considered as part of any future redevelopment proposals.