What people think about Portswood Shopping Centre flats plan

Portswood Shopping Centre was acquired by real estate company Tri7 at the start of the year following a £10m sale.

Now, the company is working with Fusion Group to bring around 500 student flats to the high street, replacing the centre.

A public exhibition about the plans was held at October Books in Portswood Road on Saturday.

John Adams was among those in attendance to find out more about the consultation.

The lifelong Portswood resident said: “The shopping centre never worked particularly well at that site, so a new building would probably improve the amenities in the area.

“And the retail aspect of the plans would likely offer more opportunities.”

Portswood Shopping Centre (Image: Newsquest) John was nonplussed about the prospect of more student accommodation in the city.

He said: “There seems to be a market for it, so I don’t mind having student flats.

“But I do know people are now concerned about the amount of parking in the area if these plans are approved, especially with the Portswood Broadway scheme going ahead.

“I do think these plans will, hopefully, face some of the issues here and make the area more user-friendly.”

The student accommodation would be manned 24-7 by security and would be self-contained, a prospect that appeals to residents.

But the potential reduction of parking spaces is a concern.

One woman, who did not wish to be named, said: “I worry about parking as we’ve been told that 90 spaces will be lost if these plans are approved.

“We already have enough issues with parking as it is.”

Concerns were also raised by Cllr Katherine Barbour, Green councillor for Portswood.

She said there is already a “lot of pressure” on the wastewater treatment site in Portswood which is unable to cope with the amount of sewage it is processing.

“Five Olympic swimming pools worth of water are being pumped into the river each and every day."

She added: “The retail units at ground floor level will have to receive their deliveries on Portswood Broadway because there won’t be any parking at the back for the retail units.

“Secondly, a building is going to be knocked down and then a new building constructed, bringing a lot of materials into the area and causing a lot of disruption for a long period of time.

“Thirdly there is very limited detail about the environmental measures that are being put in place and how sustainable this building is should its primary need for students change in the future.”

Email portswood@redwoodconsulting.co.uk to send comments, or phone 07515 050335 with any queries.

The deadline for feedback is 9am on November 4.