The dominance of Festival Place could come to an end and Basingstoke could be a more eco-friendly town in the coming years, according to an "ambitious" new vision for the town released by the council.

Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council has this week made public the results of a survey to develop a new vision for the future of Basingstoke town centre.

A masterplan that could see dramatic changes to the town was commissioned earlier this year by Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council, and the result have been released just weeks after The Gazette launched its Basingstoke Deserves Better campaign, calling on the council to urgently breath life back into the town centre.

It came at a cost of £187,733 to the public purse, and whilst there are some details including scrapping the one-way system at the Top of Town and the desire for more independent shops, cafes and restaurants, the 52-page document produced by Hemingway Design, Allies and Morrison and JLL mainly deals with the principles of what development would look like in the future.

The council is now urging residents to give their feedback before the survey closes next month, and the designers continue their work before a vote on whether it should be adopted or not is held in the spring.

BDBC's cabinet member for economic development, Cllr Hannah Golding, said: "It is vital that we develop a long-term vision to deliver our aspirations of ensuring our town centre is a top shopping, leisure and cultural destination that attracts people to the area during the day and at night."

But many parts of the report, including two-way traffic on New Road, a multi-storey car park in the area and the addition of independent shops had been planned in a previous planned transformation of the Top of Town in 2014.

More than 3,300 people took part in a survey held in February and March, with 90 per cent saying the town centre could be improved.

On top of this, 35 per cent of people said the first three words that spring to mind when they think about Basingstoke town centre was boring, soulless and empty.

As a result of this feedback, the council's partners came up with five key vision principles that must be taken into account with the masterplan: place, prosperity, progressive, purpose, and participatory.

The report reads: "If Basingstoke Town Centre is to be a place that serves the desires of its people over the next decades, and the huge societal shifts that they will bring, the actions of placemaking must be at the forefront of how it acts.

"Placebranding – done correctly – can help to guide and promote a place as somewhere that’s distinctive - worth a visit, worth considering to live, to work, and to establish a business."

It also suggests that the place should "dial up its independent spirit, ending the domination of the Malls/Festival Place".

And more independent businesses was popular among survey respondents. Priorities included:

  • More local and independent shops
  • More local and independent cafes and restaurants
  • More cultural space for arts, music, film and theatre
  • Better open public space to hold events and festivals
  • Better street furniture and planting on the high street
  • More green space

It aims to create a green town centre that promotes health and wellbeing and supports biodiversity, as well as a compact town that is easier to walk and cycle for short trips, with a healthier population and a cleaner, more attractive town centre.

Additionally, the masterplan would create a resilient town that is able to adapt to changing trends, with a unique future that is a hybrid of historic and new, as well as equipped for future challenges.

Although these aren’t proposals, the bold ideas aim to kickstart a debate about how we can ensure the town centre has a vibrant future.

“It is vital that we hear your views to help shape the emerging vision and masterplan and guide our work with partners and ensure that the suggestions being put forward sound like the kind of town centre that you would visit for years to come.”

Director at Allies and Morrison Steve Walker added: “The concept masterplan principles showcase the proposed ideas to set the future direction for the town centre over the coming decades and it builds upon Basingstoke’s existing strengths and assets to create a framework for change to make the town resilient and adaptable to changing trends.

“A place that is distinctive and a unique blend of the historic and new. We welcome the views of local people to comment and contribute to help shape the masterplan and projects that will flow from it.”

Wayne Hemingway MBE, co-founder of HemingwayDesign, said: “The response to the survey saw a diverse range of 3317 people across all ages spend an average of 23.11 minutes, over 1,280 hours in total, talking about what they wanted to see from Basingstoke town centre.

“The many one-to-ones and group sessions have also resulted in us being able to put together bold vision principles that we believe represent your views. Now’s your chance to tell us if we are on the right track or not.”

You can see the full vision and respond to the survey by clicking here.

  • What do you think of the masterplan? Send us your views to newsdesk@basingstokegazette.co.uk.