The council will consult residents over ideas for regenerating the Townhill Park estate at two public meetings taking place at the Townhill Park Community Centre on Meggeson Avenue this week.
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The consultation events will show residents all the ideas – and the council is keen to stress that they are currently still ideas – for the area, and offer the chance for input.
In particular the council wants to discuss the regeneration of the blocks of flats at the top end of Townhill Park, and whether to recommend that they should be pulled down and replaced with new homes and apartments.
The meetings will also be used to find out what shops are needed in the area, and where they should be placed.
Seeking views on road extension
Views will also be sought on the idea of extending Litchfield Road to Cornwall Road to create another main route into and out of the area. The benefit would apparently be to improve traffic flow.
Cllr Warwick Payne, Southampton City Council cabinet member for housing and leisure (pictured right), told bitternepark.info that the link road idea was part of the proposals inherited from the previous Tory administration.
‘Open to changes’
“I don’t know if they were welded to the idea, but we’re certainly open to changes and the plans can still be amended.
“We’re planning to base our decision on the consultation currently taking place. If the majority of residents want the link road, we’ll keep it in the plans, if the majority want it removed then we’ll take that on board, and we’re keen to hear from everyone who is interested in this issue.”
Peter Baillie, Conservative ward councillor for Bitterne Park, said: “I would urge everyone who has a view to become involved. The extension is not necessary for the estate regeneration of Townhill Park so there is little reason for the council not to actually listen to the consultation.”
Frogs Copse: to build or not to build?
Another hot topic at consultation meetings could be whether a part of the open space in Townhill Park known as Frogs Copse, pictured, should be set aside for development. Already there’s an offline and online petition against the idea (at the time of writing the online version had 98 ‘signatures’). See our earlier feature on Frogs Copse here.
Townhill Park consultation events take place at the Townhill Park Community Centre, Meggeson Avenue on Tuesday, September 18 from 5pm-7.30pm, and on Saturday from 1pm. You can also find out more by ringing the estate regeneration team on 023 8091 7643 or by visiting http://www.southampton.gov.uk/estateregeneration
Links
Residents launch Save Frogs Copse campaign – bitternepark.info article
Online petition to "Save Frogs Copse"
Facebook page about Saving Frogs Copse
‘Building a brighter future for Townhill Park’ – City council page about regeneration of the area
£100 million housing scheme gets go-ahead – Daily Echo
SO18 Big Local - a community programme in the Harefield, Midanbury and Townhill Park areas of Southampton, UK.
Midanbury: residents & traders oppose Tesco - bitternepark.info
Reflections on the demolition of Townhill Park blocks - bitternepark.info; includes extensive comment on 'security of tenure'