Havant Borough Council has ambitious long-term plans to regenerate Havant town centre and the neighbouring civic centre campus with a phased, residential led, collaborative and transformational place-making programme; providing new homes and an enhanced public realm which incorporates existing assets such as Havant Park. The Civic Centre campus has the potential to connect the town centre with the outstanding Further Education College. Plans will also include better integration of Havant’s railway and bus stations, with the Civic Centre Campus and the wider town centre.
The Redevelopment of Bulbeck Road is phase one of this largescale regeneration plan for Havant town centre. £1.65 million of grant funding was secured from the Department for Levelling Up & Communities (DHLUC) from the Brownfield Land Release Fund 2 (BLRF2) in November 2022. The funding will allow the council to initiate plans to redevelop the Bulbeck Road car park site. The underused car park will be demolished, and the site prepared for subsequent development for residential use. The project will address the aspirations of the council by bringing forward more housing whilst also kickstarting regeneration of the town centre. The final form of the housing provided is yet to be determined, but indicative modelling has proved the site capable of providing 91 high quality town centre homes.
An abridged document highlighting the vision and potential of the site can be found here.
Some FAQs on the project can be found here.
The Council appreciates that large scale physical regeneration takes years to come to fruition and that we need to be proactive in supporting our town centre now. Havant Town Centre was one of 68 areas selected to receive support from the High Streets Task Force in February 2022. An initial visit took place in March 2023, with the task force undertaking a diagnostic assessment of the town centre, looking at the challenges and opportunities and making some suggestions to help the Council move forward to unlock its potential and improve the retail and leisure offer in the town.
This was followed by a workshop in November of last year, which brought together local businesses, community groups, local Councillors and residents. The workshop focused on understanding the changes to town centres and about what can be done in Havant to ensure our town centre remains busy and welcoming.
The initial report suggested Havant Town Centre would benefit from an organisation or group to work collaboratively for the benefit of the town centre. As a result, the Council has made the establishment of a new ‘Havant Town Centre Partnership Board’ (HTCPB) a strategic priority.
The High Street Task Force reports for Havant include:
HAVANT Post Visit Report_ March 2023
Havant Mentor Handover Report November 2023
Applications for the Havant Town Centre Partnership Board took place in November 2023. The terms of reference for the group can be found here.
The Partnership had its first meeting on the 13 December 2023. The minutes of this meeting can be found here.
The Town Centre Partnership Board secured further support from the High Street Task Force who facilitated an interactive Place-making workshop at the Spring Arts Centre on the 26th of February for businesses, residents, and wider stakeholders. The report from the workshop will be published on this website when it becomes available and will inform the community-led collaborative action plan Havant Town Centre Partnership Board is developing.
The Partnership held its second meeting on 14 March. The draft minutes of this meeting can be found here.