Southampton City Council (SCC) has put forward two sites in Townhill Park to four registered housing providers to bid on to build new ‘affordable’ housing.
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Approved providers were invited to tender for Benhams Road, known as Plot 5, and Meggeson Avenue shops and residential - Plot 6.
The council aims to appoint and sell the land to one registered housing provider for both sites.
Once appointed, the initial design stage will follow, ultimately leading to a planning application and construction, said SCC.
“They will be keen to engage with local residents as part of this phase,” said the authority in a press release.
In February SCC approved that Plot 2 (which has a boundary of Meggeson Avenue, Townhill Way, Paulet Close and Cutbush Lane), and Plot 9 (Rowlands Walk) will be the next two sites to go through the tender process.
Plot 5. Photo: SCC
SCC leader Cllr Lorna Fielker said the mini tender was “a great step” for the council’s Affordable Housing Framework and the regeneration of Townhill Park.
“The regeneration is more than just building new homes, it is about creating a better neighbourhood and community for our residents to live and thrive in,” she said.
Townhill Park, and housing, was stressed as one of the priorities of several Bitterne Park ward candidates when we interviewed them before the recent local elections, including the victor Gordon Cooper (Lab), TUSC’s Graham Henry, and the Lib Dems’ Nick Myers.
Last year, former community organisation SO18 Big Local released a film capturing the ‘lived experience’ of the Townhill Park community, featuring interviews with residents and community workers.
It said fewer than 10% of planned homes had been built since the original masterplan for the area was approved, then a decade ago. One resident interviewed for the film said the ‘regeneration’ project had “actually decimated the estate”.