Renaissance of Southampton Old Town

Southampton’s Old Town prospectus * focuses on the ongoing renaissance of the area and how the Old Town benefits from improvements within the wider city centre.

The Old Town is located in the southern part of the city and is ideally situated to benefit from major developments taking place and planned for the wider city centre, from the emerging Cultural Quarter to the north, the proposed Watermark WestQuay development to the west and the Royal Pier Waterfront scheme to the south. These key developments will all be linked via the city’s QE2 Mile, an attractive people friendly street which leads through the Old Town connecting the city centre with the waterfront. A multi million pound investment has been made to rejuvenate the highly commended QE2 Mile providing a series of new public spaces and pedestrian thoroughfares.

For more detail about developments within the wider Southampton city centre.

The Old Town has seen a lot of change in 2010, with for example:

- the high quality public realm improvements along the QE2 Mile;
- Enhanced public realm around the Holy Rood Church area where new wider pavements and a plaza, named Holy Rood Place, will provide a pedestrian friendly environment and opportunities for al-fresco dining for the many existing restaurants and new cafes/restaurants;
- the restoration of Southampton’s oldest museum - the Tudor House Museum and Gardens, due to open next summer;
- the extensive refurbishment of Westgate Hall, formerly Tudor Merchants Hall, which is now open for hire for a variety of business purposes including lectures, meetings and conferences. The project, was funded by Southampton City Council and the Heritage Lottery Fund; and
- plans and ground works for the huge 13 tonne QE2 anchor which will be fully installed on the footpath outside Holy Rood Church by May 2011.

This work helps towards regenerating the whole area, in fact it is estimated that over 20 new businesses will have opened by the end of 2010, probably the most well known being the new Mercure Dolphin Hotel.

* The Old Town prospectus is in Adobe Acrobat format so you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader in order to view it; most computers come with Adobe Acrobat pre-installed, however if you do not have it already it can be downloaded for free. If printing the document it is recommended to print in full colour for added clarity and so as to fully appreciate Southampton's Old Town.

Image shows: Westgate Hall
Image copyright: Southampton City Council