Community is at the heart of the Waterside Vision, and working alongside the community is the core part of this partnership. We welcome and encourage community members and key stakeholders to talk to us.
As a collective we are committed to building lasting connections between businesses and the community, establishing a genuine relationship of trust that will benefit all. Focusing on the different needs, wants and challenges that come with delivering a better place to live and thrive, our aim is to keep stakeholders up-to-date on our operational activities and community opportunities, as well as future plans and developments.
Through the regeneration of the area, the Waterside Vision aims to bring more communities together.
We understand the importance of being able to live and grow within the same community. Through sustainable development, the Waterside Vision aims to support the delivery of affordable homes with improved access to businesses and individual communities across the region.
Barker-Mill Estates is committed to investing in local communities where the Barker-Mill family has owned land for generations, consisting of several thousand acres to the west of Southampton and in the New Forest. After 500 years, the family is very aware of its legacy and the ongoing vision it has to help make areas in and around Hampshire better places to live, work and spend time.
The Barker-Mill Foundation was established in 1995 and has since given substantial funding to multiple organisations, primarily in southwest Hampshire including local charities and schools.
From a Fawley Waterside perspective, it is one of the largest brownfield regeneration opportunities in Southern England and within one of only eight Freeports, cementing its status as an important site for attracting new commercial activity and stimulating local economic growth. In December 2024 Fawley Waterside responded to New Forest District Council’s ‘Call for Sites’ exercise as part of the Local Plan Review and is working with the District Council and others to come up with a viable alternative long-term plan for the site that will most likely focus on commercial, rather than residential, opportunities.
Associated British Ports (ABP) are looking to ensure their current and potential projects benefit the community through leisure provisions including providing safe walking and cycle routes and access to the waterfront. The organisation has also established a Port Consultative Committee which meets three times a year. Representatives include local authorities, parish councils, local organisations including the New Forest National Park Authority and the Environment Agency, Solent Freeport and Hampshire Chamber of Commerce attend along with other port-related companies.
We recognise the importance of respecting, protecting, and enhancing the Waterside area and its natural environment to ensure a lasting legacy. We plan to work closely with the New Forest National Park Authority and a range of local stakeholders, connecting the forest to sea through green infrastructure, ensuring all communities benefit, whilst protecting the unique area, habitat and what makes the region so special.
For Associated British Ports (ABP), protecting the environmental heritage is high on the agenda so that future generations can enjoy the unique space while the impressive array of wildlife are protected.
Solent Gateway is working towards creating an ecological buffer on the port boundary with landscaping to improve the visual impact of the port on local residential areas and encourage wildlife to the site.
For Solent Freeport, the aim is to enhance the quality and accessibility of local environmental assets for the communities of the Solent through recreation and enjoyment of natural green space. The Freeport will support national and local ambitions for net zero by growing capacity for sustainable energy production, improving efficiencies to raise productivity.
We are focused on harnessing the potential of Waterside with the aim of creating opportunities, encouraging sustainable growth and improving outcomes for local communities in the area.
Through our understanding of the specific and unique needs of Waterside and the requirements of our local communities, we are committed to building collaborative relationships with local residents, businesses and educational establishments. This is with the purpose of nurturing and realising these opportunities and inspiring future generations to want to live and work in the area.
From Associated British Ports’ (ABP) perspective one of the key benefits of developing the port is the opportunities it can bring in terms of jobs, skills and education – the opportunity for local people to benefit as the Waterside evolves. As a member of the Maritime and Transport Careers Programme, ABP work collaboratively with other maritime and transport organisations to promote career opportunities within the sector to local schools, colleges, and universities. This also enables ABP to engage with not only the next generation but career changers too, to inspire them to follow a career in maritime, providing every opportunity for local people to work with them.
The Waterside Partnership propose to offer support through fostering partnerships with the 33 schools, universities and colleges in the Waterside area to improve access to higher education and specific training support. For example, as part of Hampshire Country Council’s plan, it is looking to invest a substantial amount of funding to schools in the Waterside area to support ongoing improvement. As a provider and commissioner of skills and training services, Hampshire County Council works with business and providers to support learning in the community, with a vision to secure employment prospects for residents, whilst continuing to support learning and skills training.
Fostering partnerships with education providers will be in parallel with plans to implement local employment priority agreements and create new jobs (while at the same time protecting existing employers and employees). There will also be a focus on creating supply chain benefits for existing local businesses to create prosperity across the Waterside region.
As a collective we are working towards fostering improved connectivity and ensuring that the Waterside plays its part in the delivery of sustainable, social and green infrastructure.
We aim to promote active travel through walking, wheeling and cycling connections. This includes the 2-kilometre long Marchwood to Totton Cycle route, where Barker-Mill Estate provided the land and worked with the local council and other community groups on the launch, through to improving road and rail infrastructure to connect the Waterside to Southampton and the surrounding areas. Our aim is to work towards providing direct and quantifiable benefits for the local community through enhanced physical connectivity along and across the Waterside.
ABP has experience of total multi-modal solutions that benefit both the community and trade whether it’s connecting people through sustainable modes of travel or moving cargo via rail and sea instead of road.
With statutory responsibility for managing, maintaining and improving transport systems, Hampshire Country Council (HCC), have set a transport strategy for the Waterside, complete essential maintenance works to Redbridge Causeway and deliver many schemes to improve sustainable transport options as part of the Transforming Cities Fund.
HCC’s involvement also includes setting out to improve transport links in the area such as developing proposals for improvements to the A326 North as part of a national programme of large local major transport schemes.
Connecting the Waterside digitally and through infrastructure schemes is key to any new projects which is why the Waterside Vision is also championing the improvement of digital connections through both 5G and technology as well as improving access to and opportunities for education and training.
