Winchester Science Centre Telegraph Way Winchester Hampshire SO21 1HZ Data via plota.co.uk

SDNP/26/00443/FUL - Full Application Approved

Proposal

A proposal to enhance the educational experience on the existing engagement areas with associated play structures and landscaping Data via plota.co.uk

View original council record ↗Last checked

Application progress

✓
Received
4 Feb 2026
✓
Validated
5 Feb 2026
✓
Approved
2 Apr 2026

Approved on 2 Apr 2026 · LA Delegated Decision · Last checked 26 Jul 2026

Site constraints 9

Nutrient neutrality catchment: Solent: Includes Chichester and Langstone Harbours SPA/Ramsar, Solent and Southampton Water SPA/Ramsar, Solent Maritime SAC, Portsmouth Harbour SPA/Ramsar
New homes and overnight accommodation must show nutrient neutrality before approval.
Natural England advice: extra wastewater in these catchments harms protected habitats, so schemes must offset their nutrient load, usually through credits.
South Downs National Park
The park authority decides applications here. Great weight to conserving the landscape; major development restricted.
Landscape, scenic beauty and wildlife carry great weight, and major development is only allowed in exceptional circumstances.
Agricultural land, grade 3a
Best and most versatile land (grades 1, 2 and 3a). Source: the Predictive Agricultural Land Classification Map (Defra and Natural England, 2025; the Welsh Government's Predictive ALC Map 2 in Wales), a model rather than a site survey. Natural England's Provisional ALC map (1:250,000, 1970s) agrees.
Where development of farmland is needed, policy prefers poorer land over the best and most versatile (grades 1, 2 and 3a). Three sources: Natural England's post-1988 field surveys, which are definitive where they exist; the Defra predictive map for England (2025) and the Welsh Government predictive map, modelled from the soil map with 3a and 3b split; and the 1970s provisional map, which planners and other services still show, coarser and with grade 3 undivided. Where the provisional and predicted grades disagree, treat the predicted grade as the current estimate and expect an application to carry its own survey.
Scheduled monument 84 m away: Bowl barrow at the east end of Magdalen Hill Down
Its setting is a consideration for work nearby.
Nationally important archaeology protected by the Secretary of State. Work that affects the monument or its setting is rarely permitted.
Historic England ↗
Habitat network: Network Enhancement Zone 1
Where habitat is joined up enough to work as a network. Context, not a constraint on its own.
Also on the record
Radon affected area, class 2; Nature improvement area: South Downs Way Ahead; Registered park or garden 167 m away: Magdalen Hill Cemetery; National infrastructure project 1922 m away: M3 Junction 9 Improvement.
Not affected
Outside flood zones 2 and 3 · Not green belt · No listed building at the site

Checked on 6 October 2026. Historic England, the Environment Agency, Natural England, the Planning Inspectorate, the British Geological Survey and UK Health Security Agency (radon, contains BGS materials © UKRI) and council datasets, Open Government Licence. A boundary can run through a site and the council holds the definitive record: confirm with the council before relying on this.

Building

Floor area4,406 m² (47,426 sq ft)
Energy ratingB (asset rating 46)
UseNon-residential Institutions: Libraries, Museums, and Galleries
HeatingHeating and Mechanical Ventilation

From the energy performance certificate lodged in April 2026, the latest held for this property. The building may have changed since. View the certificate

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Important details

Application type
Full Application
Postcode
SO21 1HZ
Received
4 Feb 2026
Validated
5 Feb 2026
Ward
Upper Meon Valley Ward
Parish
Chilcomb Parish Meeting
Case officer
Show
Target decision
2 Apr 2026
Decision
Approved
Decision date
2 Apr 2026
Decision level
LA Delegated Decision
Applicant
Show
Agent
Batcheller Monkhouse

How this decision compares

Decided in 56 days from validation, 10 days faster than South Downs's median of 66 for full applications. Approved, as 91% of full applications here are.

43%decided within 8 weeks
91%approved
157decided in the last year

Plota live figures for full applications decided by South Downs in the last twelve months, from validation. South Downs decision record →

Consultation & key dates

Alt. reference
PP-14655104
Planning Portal ref
PP-14655104
Statutory expiry
2 Apr 2026
Env. assessment
No

Energy performance: Energy performance certificates from the Energy Performance of Buildings Register, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. © Crown copyright 2026.