Winchester News
The latest Winchester news: planning decisions, council and crime updates, business and community stories, each linked back to its official source.
Top story
Otterbourne Dancers Raise £1,042.30 for Winchester Hospice
Otterbourne's 'en Joy Dance Fitness members raised £1,042.30 for Winchester Hospice at their Nocturne show, some of them on a stage for the very first time.
More stories
Roads
M3 Closed Junctions 9 to 8 Two Weekends: 23 Oct and 6 Nov
The M3 shuts both ways between junctions 9 and 8 from 9pm on 23 October and 6 November to demolish old bridges. The second covers Winchester's bonfire night.
Sport
Clarendon Marathon: Eye Professor's Relay Team Runs 3h 39m
An eye professor's Gift of Sight relay team ran the Clarendon Marathon to Winchester in 3 hours 39 minutes, 8 minutes faster than last year, for eye research.
Parking
Winchester Parking Charges Rise 1 Nov: Park and Ride £4.50
Park and ride goes from £3.50 to £4.50 a day and all-day Park and Walk from £7.30 to £10 on 1 November. Every new Winchester car park price, old and new.
Food hygiene
Winchester Food Hygiene Ratings: 55 of 59 Score 5 in Sept
55 of the 59 food hygiene ratings Winchester City Council published for September scored 5. A Hursley pub got a 2. Every premises and how the district ranks.
Justice
Winchester Prison Report: Up to 36% Released Homeless
Up to 36% of men left HMP Winchester with no bed for their first night, says the prison's monitoring board. Drug finds doubled and serious assaults rose.
Health
Winchester Over-65s Exercise Classes Win National Award
Live Longer Better, the council's £3.50 exercise and dance classes for over-65s, won APSE's national health and wellbeing award. Here is where to join.
Sport
Winchester Now Has 28 Guide Runners for Blind Runners
A council grant trained 20 new guide runners in Winchester, taking the city to 28. Five blind and partially sighted runners now join club runs and parkruns.
Roads
Cart and Horses Junction: £3.9m Plan Still Has No Funding
Hampshire has two finished designs for the Kings Worthy junction and no money for either. The M3 junction 9 ruling left it unfunded, three years on.
Police
Winchester's New Police Commander Began Here as a PCSO
Chief Inspector Linda Davies is Winchester's new District Commander, 19 years after joining as a PCSO here. District crime is up 4% in a year.
Council
Winchester Local Plan 2044 consultation closes 9 October
Winchester's Local Plan 2044 scoping consultation runs to 23:59 on 9 October. Nine days before it opened, the council asked the government to let it delay.
Housing
Winchester house prices July 2026: £463,025, a second fall
The average Winchester home sold for £463,025 in July, a second straight monthly fall. June's figure has been revised down by £3,401 since it was published.
Community
Winchester dad and daughter, 12, write books on disability
Jamie Foster and daughter Isla, who has cerebral palsy, have written picture books on disability and difference, and aim to raise £1,000 for Scope.
Community
Winchester edge walk: 15 explore the Dongas and Bushfield
Fifteen people walked about 4 miles over the Dongas, St Catherine's Hill and Cowslip Field with CPRE Hampshire, hearing the history of Bushfield Camp.
What's On
Winchester meadow events: scything and sowing, 23-25 Sept
Four meadow events in Winchester, 23 to 25 September: scything hay on Magdalen Hill Down, then sowing local seed at Chilcomb, Rack Hill and Gordon Avenue.
Council
Winchester Lido Approved for River Park, 250-Year Lease
Cabinet chose Sea Lanes for the old River Park leisure centre on 9 September. Only one bid met the council's own deadline, and the highest offer was rejected.
Education
University of Winchester teacher training rated Exceptional
Ofsted gave University of Winchester teacher training its top grade, Exceptional, for inclusion and for professional behaviours and wellbeing, in both phases.
What's On
Winchester Cathedral flower festival: 15-19 Sept, from £12
Wild! fills Winchester Cathedral 9.30am to 4.30pm, 15 to 19 September. Tickets £12 to £20, a late opening on 16 September, and a Home & Garden Festival outside.
Council
Winchester city status vote delayed until 7 October
The decision on a Winchester parish council was pulled from the 20 August meeting. Ministers have not confirmed the city can keep its status and mayoralty.
Planning
Silkstead battery site at Hursley sold, work starts 2027
A 50MW battery farm on 2.2 hectares at Silkstead Farm, Hursley, has changed hands. Three parish councils objected. Construction starts 2027, power flows 2028.
Community
Winchester Personal Bests: 200 places full, waiting list
The accessible sports day at Bar End filled every place and ran a waiting list, 14 years after 33 people took part. Aqua Bests follows on 29 October.
Planning
Central Winchester Regeneration: 232 homes, none affordable
The 232-home city centre scheme carries no affordable housing at all, and the forecast £3.4m land receipt has gone. Cabinet approved it on 25 August.
Housing
St Peter's car park: 165 spaces for 44 council homes
Winchester City Council will spend up to £480,000 at its own risk on a planning bid to close the 165-space St Peter's car park and build 44 affordable homes.
Business
Winchester claimant count: youth rise smallest in Hampshire
Winchester's under-25 claimant count rose 9.3% in two years, the smallest rise of Hampshire's 11 districts. Hart's rose 60.9%. July 2026 figures, ranked.
Winchester
Winchester Guildhall to shut 14 months from March 2027
Winchester Guildhall closes for 14 months from March 2027 for £5m of repairs, and Cabinet has approved leasing it and Abbey House to an outside operator.
Planning
Droxford's White Horse Inn approved for three homes
Droxford's Grade II listed White Horse Inn was approved for conversion to three houses on 12 August, after three years on the market and no community bid.
Travel
Winchester EV charging switches to Be.EV: what you pay
Council car park chargers move to Be.EV: the Mer app stops working, and rates become 39p/kWh off peak, 54p daytime and 64p contactless. Full site list.
What's On
Science Centre summer ticket ends 31 August: what to know
Play Wild's three new outdoor exhibits are open at Winchester Science Centre, and the £18.50 summer ticket ends on 31 August. After that, weekdays are schools only.