CIVIC chiefs have approved a secret deal this week to buy a piece, or pieces, of land in the Silver Hill 2 area.

The city council is currently refusing to reveal the say where it is or how much taxpayers’ money was spent.

It comes after Winchester City Council hastily arranged an extraordinary meeting for Monday, but the only business item on the agenda was hidden from the public.

It is thought the deal relates to the city centre Friarsgate Medical Centre, which is currently owned by the TH Real Estate (THRE), the developers behind the original, collapsed Silver Hill scheme.

However, it has also been rumoured to relate to several properties fronting onto The Broadway, including the Gandhi restaurant, Subway and two empty unit next to Alfie’s pub.

Both sites fall within the Silver Hill 2 zone, officially known as the Central Winchester Regeneration area. Recently a supplementary planning document was agreed for the revamp of the area.

The city council has refused to confirm either, with a spokesman only saying that the council has agreed the transaction.

The 135-page document was discussed at the Guildhall on Monday evening, but Cllr Kim Gottlieb was excluded from the talks due to his business interest in owning the nearby St Clements surgery.

Speaking to the Chronicle, the independent councillor said: “The proposed acquisition of the Friarsgate surgery by the council is something I am happy to support.

“It is a prominent part of the Central Winchester Regeneration (CWR) area, and its future needs to be considered within the context of a master plan for the whole site. The purchase would bring THRE’s eight-year involvement in this project to an end.”

Cllr Gottlieb added: “Their continued interest in the site, and the way in which the council preserved the original planning permission, kept alive the possibility that a development scheme that was deeply flawed might be resuscitated.

“What’s important is what happens next. However, just now the council should spare a thought, and possibly a thank you, for those many residents who by resisting the Henderson scheme created the opportunity for the council to make sure that, this time, the development of the site really is devised in the best interests of the city.”

The document was also debated earlier in the day by the cabinet, again with it being held behind closed doors.

Before members of the public were excluded, former Labour city councillor Patrick Davies addressed councillors on the secrecy issue.

He said: “It cannot be proper that the council is seeking to do business in this way. I can only assume it is a transaction to do with the CWR... It cannot be right this is the way it is being dealt with.

“This long report cannot be wholly dealt with in public, fair enough, there must be certain commercial aspects. That’s it. It cannot all be dealt with in private.”

Under the Local Government Act, a council can withhold information if it meets certain criteria, among them being information relating to the financial or business affairs.

However, Mr Davies highlighted a condition stating: “Information is not exempt information if it relates to proposed development for which the local planning authority may grant itself planning permission.”

Defending the decision to keep the details private, city council corporate head of resources Lisa Kirkman said: “The intention is always to be transparent. Certainly there is a balance to be struck... I believe that is a correct exemption.”

As previously reported, a planning condition on the Friarsgate site, which has been empty for a number of years, was dropped by the city council in April last year, meaning it can now be converted into housing.

The city council has also previously commissioned a valuation of the building.