A DEVELOPMENT partner has today been announced for one of the biggest schemes in Winchester's history.

Central Winchester Regeneration (CWR) will be developed by the Jigsaw Consortium, who have worked on similar schemes in Rochdale and Newcastle.

Jigsaw Consortium is a partnership between Genr8 Kajima Regeneration Limited (Kajima and Genr8 Developments) and PfP igloo (PfP Capital and igloo Regeneration.)

The announcement was made two weeks after Winchester City Council's cabinet agreed the development partner, after a lengthy procurement process.

The city council in 2021 relaunched its redevelopment of Central Winchester, centred on Silver Hill.

The previous scheme fell apart in 2016 following a legal challenge by Kim Gottlieb.

The Jigsaw Consortium scored a total of 82.29 per cent in the selection process, from the final shortlist of three.

At the reveal on March 20 Cllr Martin Tod, leader of the city council, said: “This is a once in a generation opportunity. This has taken one year of work and mammoth scrutiny, but we now have our partner.

READ MORE: Winchester Silver Hill: Developer agreed for major city centre scheme

“This has to be done sensitively, which is why we've taken the time to find the right partner. This is the right chance and everyone wants to sort this area out.”

Hampshire Chronicle:

Richard Clancy, managing director of Kajima, said: “We're delighted to be selected as the development partner. We're really looking forward to working with the council to bring this to reality.

“We're committed to provide a mixed use area, including homes for a range of housing needs. We also want to work with local people and businesses throughout the project's lifespan. We come into this project with a team with a wealth of experience. 

“We have worked on a variety of projects such as Rochdale's Riverside and Newcastle's Stephenson Quarter. We're very excited for this unique opportunity and we can't wait to get started.”

Rochdale Riverside has a variety of shops, restaurants and a cinema. Stephenson Quarter is more similar to the vision for CWR, with more hotels and businesses. 

John Long, development director at PfP igloo, said: “The whole Jigsaw Consortium team is truly honoured to have been selected as the council’s development partner for this project. We recognise the enormous responsibility and privilege that we have in bringing forward a development in such an historic city.  We, and the incredible talent in the design team we have assembled for this project, will work tirelessly to make it a success.”

Tamsin Traill, regeneration director at Genr8 Kajima Regeneration, said: “We are excited to be working with Winchester City Council to deliver this extremely important project.  The newly formed consortium is a collaboration between market experts in social and sustainable development and will ensure that we are able to deliver a truly special place within Winchester.”

The regeneration site includes Kings Walk, Friarsgate and the bus station.

On March 21, Winchester City Council is hosting an event at The Nutshell Theatre in Kings Walk where people can hear from the new development partner and ask questions. The meeting starts at 6pm.