The Romsey Chamber of Commerce has shown 'deep concern' over the economic health of the town centre.

The chamber's president Julian Gee has written to Test Valley Borough Council over the increasing trend of buildings being converted from commercial to residential use. 

This comes after several shops in Romsey have closed including M&Co, Superbook and Barclays bank. 

Mr Gee's letter said: “We are writing to you to express our deep concern over what appears to be a dangerous trend in Romsey. As a long-standing organisation concerned with economic health of the town, we have witnessed in the recent past several cases where changes of use from commercial to residential status have been granted that we strongly feel are not in the best interests of the town in the longer term. 

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“We feel that a point has been reached where we needed to register this concern with the appropriate authorities and seek reassurance that the commercial health of the town is at the forefront of ongoing planning considerations.

“What has heightened our concern in particular are three examples, HSBC Bank, the former Kho Thai Restaurant in The Hundred and also the Abbey Hotel. 

“In the case of both the Abbey Hotel and Kho Thai restaurant premises we know of very credible interest shown by potential purchasers who intended to retain the premises as hospitality venues but instead they were sold to developers wishing to convert them to residential use, which once granted have meant their loss as commercial premises in perpetuity.

“We as a Chamber of Commerce are committed to safeguarding employment land and jobs which lead to prosperity for the town and those who live here.”

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Reacting to the concern, Cllr Sandra Gidley, who represents the Romsey Abbey ward on the borough council, said: “This is a worrying trend as the town needs a range of attractive businesses in order to thrive. Allowing buildings to convert their use from retail to residential is not the way to achieve this. That said, I understand that there were no objections to the conversion of former HSBC bank. We all need to be vigilant in order to ensure that this trend does not continue. 

“We do need to retain as many businesses as we can, in order for the town centre to thrive but cost of living pressures and very high rents are also part of the problem. I hope that the empty units in the town centre will be occupied as soon as possible. Romsey has a good record of keeping its retail space occupied and, despite the economy, this is still an attractive place to start a new business.”