MAJOR plans for Romsey town centre could be launched next year, a meeting heard.
Plans to move the Crosfield Hall to the Rapids site, new car parks and new flats were discussed at the Romsey Forum.
Cllr Nick Adams-King gave a presentation on Thursday, September 21 about the proposed development of the area around the hall, the bus station and Aldi.
He said: "There are a number of points over the next few months when the funding might be unlocked. If that happens, I imagine we would have a planning application for the first phase of the development by the end of 2024 or the start of 2025."
Romsey Future, which is chaired by Cllr Adams-King, has been looking at ways of improving the area since 2013.
He told the meeting that a Citizens' Assembly was held in Romsey in 2019 which discussed how the area could be improved.
The group, comprising Romsey people, came back with ideas which resulted in a masterplan being adopted in the summer of 2020.
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Cllr Adams-King said: “The plan is to build two buildings. They will have shops, cafes, community facilities including public toilets and above them will be flats. They will be the same height as Duke's Mill.
“It will have a diagonal open walkway though, which is designed so people can still see the Abbey, it being the main feature of the town centre.
“Concurrent with this happening, the Crosfield Hall will be moved. There will be a new Crosfield Hall built at the Rapids site. The Crosfield Hall will become a two-tiered car park as a temporary measure.
“The next phase will be that Aldi will move across and build a new store on the Crosfield Hall site. The Aldi car park will become a tiered car park with an outer edge of flats and shops. The former Aldi unit will see shop front back onto The Hundred and community use of the car park side.
“The point we are at is completing the viability assessment and costing for what that new building layout will look like. That is linked to what will happen to the Crosfield Hall.
“What we are doing at the moment is talking to the users of the Crosfield Hall once more and also other organisations in town to understand what they would want from a new Crosfield Hall.
“There will need to be connectivity from the bus station to the Rapids to enable people to get to the new hall by bus. Also the walking route will need to be improved.
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“We are in the process of putting this all together. We are looking at different ways we can fund it. Once that is agreed a formal proposal will go through the council to and we will go through the process of choosing someone to do the work.”
Gary Wilburn, managing directer of Romsey-based EP Projects, said: “I know a thing or two about retrofitting buildings. What Nick says is absolutely right. The commercial viability to deliver something to the standards we adhere to is a hell of a challenge.
“Finding the right sort of developer to do this sort of thing isn't easy. The new buildings are un-lettable. They will not let as retail space. People won't hold those buildings for a long time. The shapes of those buildings need reviewing.
“The hall is a very sensitive subject and we only get one chance to get it right. But it is great to see the progress.”
For more details about the proposals, visit romseyfuture.org.uk/the-masterplan.
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