Scheme

Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) is progressing proposals to bring forward a residential-led development of between 750-1,000 new homes at Sir John Moore Barracks. Alongside political and stakeholder engagement, Meeting Place looked to motivate support and build local understanding of why development is being prioritised on the site.

This includes working with younger generations locally, exploring who will be the future residents and occupiers of these homes once built. To do this we held workshops with a number of local schools.

Strategy

Working with Y10 Engineering students at The Henry Beaufort School the team explored the site through the lenses of placemaking, flooding, transport and landscape. Armed with maps, an inquisitive mindset and unfiltered imagination, students contributed a range of thoughtful ideas, many of which fed directly into the concept masterplan for the site.

Meeting Place hosted a similar workshop with Peter Symonds College’s A-Level Geography students. Their recommendations for the site included a pedestrian-first transport network, flexible co-working spaces and community hubs that could support an intergenerational future.

We invited primary school children across the local area to take part in a competition to help design the logo for the redevelopment. The winning design was created by Prakriti at Harestock Primary School. Her logo, along with elements from the runners-up designs, will be professionally developed and will ultimately inspire the visual brand identity for the entire redevelopment.

Outcome

The logo has been integrated into the plans for the site and will be used across our project materials. We were able to speak with 56 young people across the four rounds of engagement, being clear with the scope of influence and how their input will shape the proposals.

As conversations about the wider development progress, we are ensuring that young people stay connected to the site and understand the positive impact of housing-led regeneration will have within Winchester.