15 years, 56 homes built – Townhill Park in Southampton regeneration faces new challenge

Fifteen years after plans to transform Townhill Park were first drawn up, just 56 homes have been completed as the major regeneration scheme now faces challenges.

The long-running Southampton City Council programme has endured delays, budget reductions and developers pulling out since proposals for hundreds of new homes were first unveiled in 2011.

Barbara Hancock, secretary of regeneration forum THRILL (Townhill Regeneration Is Leaving Legacy), described what had happened as “deeply shocking”.

“The view in the neighbourhood of people is it’s a tragedy,” she said.

However, Ms Hancock stressed there were “many reasons” behind the regenerations hold-ups and said it would be wrong to point the finger in one direction.

Now plans for another 189 affordable homes are being affected by high construction costs.

Housing provider Abri was appointed in 2024 to develop plots five and six, covering land between Benhams Road, Meggeson Avenue, Hallet Close and Cutbush Lane and the Meggeson Avenue shopping parade.

The appointment was hailed as a “huge milestone”, with Abri previously saying it hoped to submit a planning application by the end of 2025.

But a new council report says Abri is reviewing its options before starting detailed design work.

Tina Dyer-Slade, the council’s director of corporate estate and assets, said: “The sites have challenging topography, and viability is being affected by high construction costs relative to property values.”

Subject to those challenges being resolved, a planning application is now expected in 2027 and construction in 2029.

Ms Hancock said rising building costs were the big concern in the wake of green shoots of momentum.

She said: “You’ve got the political will, you’ve got the housing associations on the side, but are they going to be stymied by the fact that so little house building is going on anywhere?”

Across the programme, only 56 homes have so far been completed on plot one.

Contractor Countryside Partnerships, formerly Drew Smith, withdrew from three plots in 2023.

Ms Hancock said the forum was more optimistic than it had been “after years of despair when things never happened”, particularly because of progress involving Sovereign Network Group (SNG).

SNG is preparing plans for 109 social-rent and shared-ownership homes on plot two, with construction currently envisaged to begin in 2028.

It is also bringing forward schemes for plots nine and 10, with plot nine having “proved challenging” and development dependent on Homes England funding.

Ms Hancock said residents remained cautious after waiting so long.

“Until there’s not only the start on site, but the first residents move in, I think there is still trepidation,” she said.

“Until that happens, people won’t really believe it because it’s gone on an astonishing length of time.”

Councillors will examine the regeneration’s progress at the housing scrutiny panel on Thursday, November 5.

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