20th September 2002: Winchester City Council has been told that it must identify a specific site north of the city where houses could be built if needed.

Debate has raged for over two years on which part of Barton Farm area houses might go.

Now, the strategic planning authorities - Hampshire County and Portsmouth and Southampton City councils - have said Winchester must come up with a firmer proposal.

But this did not mean that houses would definitely be built in the area, Winchester council leader, Sheila Campbell, said.

"The strategic local authorities have insisted that our local district plan, when it comes to the second deposit version, must contain a more tightly-drawn identification of the site for the reserve major development area," she told the Hampshire Chronicle.

The plan would be published early in the New Year.

But she added that it did not mean that houses would definitely be built north of Winchester added - and it did not trigger the mechanism by which any MDA - Major Development Area - would be released.

She explained: "At the moment, the building applications coming forward in our urban capacity sites are in sufficient numbers to meet our planning requirements."

She said, however, that identification of the area would have to be done soon.

She told the city council cabinet: "We have to move on this during the course of this autumn so that when the public inquiry convenes it can examine the particular site and not the broad area."