RESIDENTS and businesses in Buckskin and South Ham are being invited to share their experiences of living or working in the area to ‘shape a plan for the future’.

Sovereign Network Group (SNG) has invited over 4,700 homes and businesses in South Ham and Buckskin to share their experience, including views on housing, buses and parks.

A spokesperson for SNG said: “Everyone’s views will be used to help identify options and opportunities for investment and change.

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“Over the next two years, further engagement will take place with the community and a residents’ group formed to develop the options and then create the plan for the future.

“Options may include refurbishing homes and the regeneration or renewal of parts of the estates.”

Tom Titherington, SNG chief investment and development officer, said: “We have a legacy of investing in Buckskin and South Ham, where we provide many homes for our customers.

“Our plan is to make further significant investment over decades, to improve the lives of not only SNG customers but everyone who lives there.

“But we cannot do this without the community and our partners co-creating this with us. This listening exercise is the start of a very exciting journey to help shape the future of Buckskin and South Ham.

“We have established the Sovereign Hill Partnership (SHP) with the Hill Group, a developer with a strong track record of working with communities. They will work with us across our business to ensure we have the capacity and capability to do the work needed.

"SHP is putting together a team of architects, engineers, and other specialists to work with the community to create the right plan for the future of Buckskin and South Ham.”

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Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council is working with SNG, with the regeneration of Buckskin and South Ham identified as a key priority in its updated Council Plan 2023 to 2027 and the Local Plan.

Evidence from talking to the community will also be submitted by SNG to the council as part of its next Local Plan consultation in 2024.

The borough council's cabinet member for major projects and regeneration Cllr Onnalee Cubitt said: “We are working alongside Sovereign Network Group to empower the communities of Buckskin and South Ham to shape their future.

“The community has had so much promised over many years and we are determined to work together to deliver on these promises.

“We value our partnership with Sovereign Network Group and have shared values of cooperation and collaboration. Regeneration and renewal across the borough is also a key priority for us. We are working alongside them to put the communities of Buckskin and South Ham at the heart of shaping the future of their areas.”

Residents are being asked to come along to a series of events and give feedback at shapingthefuture.commonplace.is.