Fareham town centre to be overhauled as shopping centre, library and multi-storey car park to be demolished in £125m regeneration project

Plans that have been years in the making - and will take at least a decade to execute - will see Fareham town centre completely transformed by knocking down a portion of the shopping centre.

With that and the multi-storey car park on the chopping block, plans are in motion for a £125m investment to change the entire landscape of the town centre.

What’s left of the shopping centre will be revamped into an arcade, and a new pathway towards the Civic Centre and Fareham Live will be created for pedestrians, on the land where B&M and the old Debenhams currently sits.

Inside what’s left of the shopping centre, a route will be opened late into the night as a route to and from Fareham Live, and shops will be allowed to continue trading on extended opening hours.

Fareham Borough Council leader, Councillor Simon Martin, said: “It’s really exciting - I have been a councillor for years and held the planning portfolio prior to becoming leader. People always ask when we’re going to see something different and with this project, it’s finally going to change.

“This isn’t just a pipe dream, or a plan on a bit of paper - we will follow through with this regeneration plan.”

Fareham Borough Council has given “100 per cent” reassurance that adequate new spaces will be found for the library, job centre and GP surgery - all of which are set to be levelled by the project.

Furthermore, what will sit on the new land is still a matter of research and debate. Housing seems to be on the agenda in some form, and the council has vowed that all parking lost from the multi-storey will be replaced in some manner.

But ideas of a hotel, leisure venues, and even just attractive green space have all been floated around; nothing is set in stone at the time of publication, and the council says it’s open to feedback from locals.

Fareham Borough Council’s head of regeneration, Kirstin Clow, said: “We are planning to demolish the eastern part of the shopping centre for starters - we have too much retail space multiple vacant units.

“Being the size that this town is, we just want to be the best version of Fareham that we can be.

“We want new visitors, but we can’t aspire to be a huge town centre. This is about making Fareham work well for everyone, but particularly for people living and shopping here.”

Under current proposals, it’s hoped planning permission will be secured by the end of this year, with demolition work starting sometime in 2028.

But the entire project won’t be completed for another 10-15 years, and the council is keen to keep the town centre running as smoothly as possible while demolition and regeneration work takes place.

Director of planning and regeneration, Richard Jolley, said: “The majority of the work should be completed within five years, but the residential process will take much longer.

“At the end of the day, the town centre has to remain open for business, and attractive for business, throughout the project.”