CITY planners are calling on the public to help them influence the future of Winchester.

The city council is preparing its new local plan to run until 2038 and wants to hear the public's view on many issues.

These include what form development should take, as the council has been told it needs to plan for around 700 new dwellings a year.

Adrian Fox, strategic planning manager, speaking at the Town Forum last Thursday, said the consultation was not about specific sites such as the 5,000-home Royaldown scheme for between Oliver's Battery and Hursley, Micheldever New Town or Sir John Moore Barracks. "There have been no decisions on any sites," he said.

Questions included, is there a need for a green belt or should development take the form of new settlements or be spread around the district? But it is not just a question of housing but how people will live. Officers and councillors have been attracted by the idea of a '15-minute neighbourhood', areas that are not car dependent, where walking and cycling can thrive.

As well as the 'call for sites' from potential developers, the council wants to hear about brownfield land and how to prepare for the low-carbon infrastructure including renewable energy and battery storage sites.

Mr Fox said: "We are particularly keen on using brownfield sites, keen to hear from people who know of brownfield sites that we as planners should be investigating and looking at further. I really welcome that kind of local involvement, for people to come forward, and say 'have you looked at this area, it might have potential for housing'."

"We want people to get involved. It is a journey we want you on."

The new consultation will be launched on Monday February 15 when the Your Plan Your Place website, www.localplan.winchester.gov.uk, goes live. It runs until April 4.

Virtual sessions with the public will be held in February and March.

The city council has had two other public consultations recently. It has recently completed its Vision for Winchester, branded as One Great Win and is also consulting on the future of the Silver Hill in the city centre.

City councillors on the forum raised several issues. Cllr Mike Craske, Lib Dem, asked whether now was the time to increase housing in the High Street. His comment only days after Debenhams confirmed the closure of its High Street store.

Cllr Fiona Mather, Conservative, spoke about open spaces and their accessibility to the public. "Winchester appears to be surrounded by a substantial green belt but much of it is not accessible. In St Michael's ward most is Winchester College playing fields or farming land owned by St Cross. We do have a shortage. The more we infill in Winchester the more we create a problem. We have many more people with fewer and fewer places they can go for recreation. Nothing highlights this more than Covid."

Cllr Paula Ferguson, Lib Dem and portfolio holder for local economy, said the council needed to protect employment sites at Winnall and Bar End otherwise Winchester would turn into a dormitory town. We could end up with lots of houses and nowhere for people to work."

Cllr Dominic Hiscock, said of the 15-minute neighbourhood idea: "I would like to see a cafe within 15 minutes of where people live with a table outside where people can feel part of a community."

The Town Forum formally adopted the Vision for Winchester documents.