Fareham Borough Council has spent £14.25m acquiring the town’s high street shopping centre and adjoining properties.
The authority said ownership would enable it to provide ‘stability and reassurance’ to the shopping centre’s tenants and to ‘take a view of the town centre as a whole’.
The purchase is part of the council’s town centre regeneration programme, which includes £16.7m to redevelop an entertainment venue, renamed Fareham Live, and £2.5m replacing a car park.
Shopping centre advisors RivingtonHark have been appointed by the council to advise on strategic direction and improvements.
Fareham BC executive leader Cllr Seán Woodward said: ‘Purchasing the shopping centre presents a unique strategic opportunity for the council to take control of key assets at the heart of the town centre at a time when we are developing a new strategy to transform the current offer and enhance its appeal.
The unprecedented levels of funding we are injecting into this area underline the significance we place on having a vibrant, economically successful town centre and send a clear signal to the market that Fareham town centre remains very much open for business.’
Public engagement and consultation on plans for the town centre will take place over the next six months.
