BACKLASH against Winchester civic chiefs began last night after their landmark decision to approve contentious changes to the Silver Hill scheme.

Residents and campaigners denounced planners for ignoring the public after they unanimously approved the revised £165 million development of shops, homes and public space. Others hailed the decision as a crucial step forward.

Rose Burns, who spoke at a thousand-strong march against the council last month, told the Chronicle last night: “I’m appalled that this jewel among cities may become scarred by a dense mass of ugly structures.

“The planning committee ignored their electorate by deciding in favour of a 90s-style massive development which our infrastructure cannot support, which will irrevocably damage the history and heritage of our city and which the majority of residents simply don’t want.”

Almost a thousand people complained to Winchester City Council ahead of Thursday's planning committee, while 192 sent letters of support.

A city council spokesman said: “Members of the planning committee listened to voices on all sides of the debate on this important issue and reached their own independent decision based on the planning matters before them.

"We look forward to working with Henderson on this next phase of our historic city’s development."

The scheme is set to deliver hundreds of jobs, but residents and some councillors have warned that central Winchester will become a rich man’s ghetto unless cheaper homes are built for local workers.

Controversial changes approved on Thursday include slashing all 100 cut-rate flats to make way for more shops.

Housing boss Ian Tait defended the cull at Thursday's meeting, saying £1 million pledged by Henderson towards affordable homes elsewhere was more useful to the council.

“People want family housing,” he said. “They do not want a two-bedroom flat on the third floor.

“Our new build programme is underfunded - we want that money,” he said. “We don’t want affordable housing provided on this site. We have an insatiable appetite for money should that be given to us."

Head of new homes Andrew Palmer said the cash, rising to £2 million if Henderson turns enough profit, would pay for seven or eight homes on council land.

He told Thursday’s meeting that the firm could no longer afford to build cheap housing because land value in Winchester – already one of Britain’s priciest cities – had risen since the original scheme was approved in 2009.

Martin Perry, Henderson’s director of development, said: “The design team has worked hard, with a critical eye, to ensure that the final scheme is one that we can all be proud of. I’m very pleased that elected councillors have now given it the green light.”