SO ‘Saxon Gate’ it is, then. There were 98 suggestions from the public for the new name for the Central Winchester Regeneration area, more commonly known as Silver Hill, the area between The Broadway and Friarsgate that is set for a £100 million-plus redevelopment.

The shortlist of names was Alfred’s Gate, King Alfred Quarter, The Central Quarter, Alfred Quarter, Brook Quarter, Riverside, Saxon Gate, Anglo Saxon Quarter, Alfred’s Place, King Alfred’s View and Kings Quarters.

READ: Welcome to Saxon Gate - new name chosen for Silver Hill area>>> 

The city council took the view that the historic name for the main street in the area, Silver Hill, was somehow a toxic name because of the collapse of the first Silver Hill scheme in 2016. The Chronicle disagreed, arguing that a historic name, dating from the time when medieval tradesman gathered their businesses in the area, was more enduring than a concocted modern name.

The city council revealed the new name at a meeting on Tuesday evening. Will the name Saxon Gate capture the public imagination? Does it trip off the tongue and engage people, as the marketing people might say?

Time will tell. It will be interesting to look back in a decade’s time and see what the public are calling the area.

Hopefully the redeveloped area of shops, offices, homes and a new museum will be something with which the city and Hampshire is proud.