Cllr Phil North: £67 million boost for our town centres

At the same time, the growth of online shopping, hybrid working and out of town retail has led to vacant units in High Streets right across the country and sadly, Andover is not immune from those challenges.

Recognising this trend, my pitch to colleagues when I became leader of the council was that we had to do something about it.

And last week at our full council meeting, councillors unanimously signed off one of the biggest capital programmes in the council’s history to do just that.

The £67 million boost will fully fund the balance of our priority town centre regeneration projects, shaped by residents, community groups and local partnerships – and is the culmination of almost a decade’s worth of work by Andover Vision and Romsey Future.

For our town, that means a brand new Lights Theatre and public square; the creation of Western Avenue Riverside Park - uncovering a hidden stretch of the River Anton; significant improvements to the Chantry Centre including new flooring, lighting and fixing the roof; a new pavilion, kiosk and splash park at Vigo Road Recreation Ground; and the demolition of the former Magistrates Court, creating a nicer entrance to the college and more parking for the Leisure Centre.

All of these major projects will bring people together and provide a major boost for local businesses.

And what’s more, will be delivered with no external borrowing.

With most of the money coming from government grants, earmarked reserves and capital receipts.

There will, of course, be some who criticise that this should have been done sooner, or in a different way, but I’m proud to get all of this over the line.

Being leader of the council is difficult; there is no special lever to pull to make it happen immediately.

You have to assemble the land holding, recruit the masterplanners, do the engagement, find the architects, get the finance in place, secure the planning permission and procure the contracts.

All whilst building alliances, overcoming hurdles, and working in partnership.

There is plenty I’ve learnt from the process, but I suppose the most important aspect is that we haven’t just listened to those that shout the loudest.

Proper consultation and engagement means listening to as many voices as possible, whilst iterating along the way.

And we haven’t just been waiting for this moment, over many years we’ve continued to roll out our independent retailer grants to attract new independent businesses; promoted easy in, easy out leases in the Chantry Centre for businesses to come and test the market; introduced shop front grants for existing businesses; reduced and then frozen car parking charges; worked with the NHS to open the Andover Health Hub; and invested in a massive programme of High Street events such as Second Sunday markets to drive up footfall.

We are now on the verge of something truly transformational for Andover with construction work getting underway on the new theatre in the next few months, and Western Avenue and Vigo Park not far behind.

Across the country, towns are struggling with uncertainty and decline. But in Andover we have clear ambition. We have the resources. Now, let’s get the job done.