South of Romsey Town Centre - How we got here

Over the past decade, we’ve worked closely with the Romsey community to shape a shared vision for the south of the town centre, including the future of Crosfield Hall.

A community-led journey

• In 2013, local organisations formed the Romsey Future partnership.
• A major public consultation in 2015–16, involving over 2,000 people, led to the first Romsey Future Vision.
• One of the key aims was to create a healthier, more vibrant town centre that meets the needs of residents both now and in the future.
• Crosfield Hall was identified as a valued community space, but it’s isolated and no longer meets the needs of a growing population.
• Another identified priority was the importance of public realm improvements - making the town centre more welcoming, walkable and connected.
• There was also a desire to make a feature of Holbrook Stream, creating a new public realm and green space that opens onto the water and encourages people to spend time in the area.

The South of Romsey Town Centre (SoRTC) masterplan was adopted in 2020, setting out opportunities for the area but not fixing the future of Crosfield Hall.

What you told us

Since 2018, we've carried out extensive engagement around the future of the south of Romsey area including the bus station site and the Crosfield Hall site. One of the key topics of discussion was how best to provide a community facility for a growing town.

• Stage 1 consultation (2018): Over 1,500 people took part. Many supported replacing Crosfield Hall with a modern facility.
• Citizens’ Assembly (2019): Called for a revived Crosfield Hall in a better location, with a flexible, functional community hub and more green spaces.
• Stage 2 consultation (2020): Reinforced the need for high-quality, accessible community facilities.

Citizens’ Assembly 2024

In 2024, a second Citizens’ Assembly was held to deliberate on possible options for community facilities in Romsey with the objective of developing preferences to inform Romsey Future’s decision making. These preferences serve as a starting point to inform Romsey Future’s considerations when developing community facilities.

The Citizens' Assembly brought together 36 residents, selected to reflect Romsey’s population, and supported by independent facilitators and expert speakers.

What the Citizens' Assembly did:

• Heard from local groups including the Disabled People Partnership, Chamber of Commerce and Romsey and District Society.
• Explored lived experiences of current facilities through pre-engagement workshops.
• Explored three site options: bus station, Crosfield Hall, and Romsey Rapids.
• Developed a set of principles and criteria for future community spaces, including:

1. A large hall and smaller meeting rooms
2. Café/bar, performance space, co-working areas
3. Outdoor space, Changing Places WC, and full accessibility

The Citizens' Assembly's preferred approach:

After reviewing the design options, the Citizens’ Assembly were permitted to vote for more than one design in order of preference.

Following the final vote, the list of preference of the three options was:

• Most members of the Assembly placed the Crosfield Hall site as their first preference.
• For a few members of the Assembly, the bus station site was the preferred option. For over half it was their second preference.
• No members of the Assembly placed the Romsey Rapids site as their preferred option. A few placed this as their second preference.

Additional Studies

Between the two phases of the Citizens' Assembly, the council received results from two studies it had commissioned, undertaken in summer 2024; a retail study and a parking study. These have helped shape the design options and highlight key priorities for the town.

The parking study found that:

• Romsey’s town centre car parks are often 90% full, which is above the recommended 85% threshold for easy access. This means it can be difficult for people to find a space, especially during busy periods.
• Redevelopment of the south of Romsey town centre area would result in the loss of 84 spaces.
• These spaces need to be re-provided elsewhere to avoid harming town centre access and vitality.
• The Crosfield Hall site is the only viable location within council ownership to do this.

That’s why all design options include a decked car park on the Crosfield Hall site - and why the preferred option (Option 1+) increases this to 285 spaces to help meet future demand.

The retail study found that:

• Demand for retail and food and drink space in Romsey is expected to grow modestly by 2040.

To support this, all design options include mixed-use development on the bus station site, combining homes, shops and commercial space. This helps keep the town centre vibrant and supports linked trips with the new community facility.