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Press Release

29 November 2023

Help us shape the future of Fareham Town Centre

Following the purchase of Fareham Shopping Centre and adjoining properties in September, Fareham Borough Council is undertaking a period of engagement between now and next summer, firstly to understand what local people, residents, businesses and visitors would like to see and then to share early ideas and plans.

This will begin with an initial listening exercise between Wednesday 29 November and Wednesday 6 December. There are multiple ways to get involved across the week to help us shape the future of Fareham Town Centre:

Public drop-in sessions:
- Saturday 2 December – 11am – 3pm: Delme Square (by Costa Coffee / Next) Fareham Shopping Centre
- Saturday 2 December – 11am – 3pm: Café area, Fareham Leisure Centre
- Monday 4 December – 9.30am – 12pm: Monday Market, Fareham Town Centre
Online feedback: https://bit.ly/3Te0oNR
Feedback ‘drop off’ points in the Library and Civic Offices, printed forms will be available.

Councillor Seán Woodward, Executive Leader of Fareham Borough Council, said: “This is a pivotal moment in Fareham’s progress, and we want local people and all our visitors to continue to feel proud of what it has to offer. Town centre regeneration is one of our key and by taking ownership of the shopping centre we have the opportunity to think about how we can enhance its appeal and create a vibrant, thriving place.

“This is a very important journey in our Town’s future and we want to hear from our community so that everyone is invested in the process. We are keen to understand the needs and aspirations of Fareham’s residents, businesses, shoppers and visitors alike. Fareham Town Centre already has a lot to offer and now is the time for us to build on all that is positive and make Fareham the best it can be.

The way people shop and what they use town centres for is changing. While Fareham Town Centre has a range of services and shops, there is also an increasing number of vacancies, particularly in the shopping centre itself. The layout of the shopping centre does not provide easy routes between Fareham Live (opening in 2024), the library, the health centre, Council offices and the shopping and entertainment offered in West Street and into Market Quay beyond.

A key early priority of the engagement process will be to understand what people like about the town centre, what you would change and determine what other uses – whether that be new homes or more office space – could be incorporated to increase footfall and support a night time economy. The findings from this and other engagement activities in the spring will then be used to inform a regeneration strategy and masterplan in later next year.

To support in this process, Fareham Borough Council has recruited the experience of RivingtonHark who will lead on providing strategic town centre regeneration advice. They will be aided by Leslie Jones Architecture as masterplanner and Redwood Consulting who will be working alongside the Council to manage the community engagement process.

ENDS

Notes to Editor:

For more information, please contact fareham@redwoodconsulting.co.uk / 0207 828 5553.

About Fareham Borough Council:

Fareham Borough Council is a local authority for the area midway between Portsmouth and Southampton. With the town at its centre, the Borough covers the wards of Fareham, Portchester, Stubbington, Hill Head, Titchfield, Park Gate, Warsash, Locks Heath and Sarisbury.

The Council is governed by Councillors from each ward, who work with specific Council departments dealing with a wide range of local services and issues.

This and previous media releases can be viewed on the Council’s website: www.fareham.gov.uk/pressreleases

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About RivingtonHark

RivingtonHark is the most experienced and active company focused on creating, evolving and improving UK town and city centres. We do this on behalf of both the public and private sectors, covering development, asset, and investment management. We have:

We have the UK’s first ESG focused Fund with a £300m mandate to secure quality institutional retail assets. The first of which was Clayton Square in Liverpool, and more recently Victoria Leeds at £120m and Liberty Centre Romford for £90m
Opened Chester Northgate, major new regeneration project of some £65m
Opened Copr Bay Swansea to much acclaim. Cost £135m
On site in Newcastle City Centre
Asset manage more than £1bn of town centre assets in the UK, and rapidly growing
We have bought or sold over £330m of Shopping Centres in last 18 months. Currently the most active player in this sector.
We coinvest with our investors where appropriate.