Masterplan

Bringing HemingwayDesign’s vision to life, masterplanner Allies and Morrison explored how these ideas might change the physical arrangement of streets, spaces and buildings.

Principles

A green town centre

  • promoting health and wellbeing
  • supporting biodiversity
  • providing climate change resilience

A compact town

  • easier to walk and cycle for short trips
  • a healthier population
  • a cleaner and more attractive centre

A resilient town

  • able to adapt to changing trends
  • a critical mass of people to support activities
  • community and culture, as well as commerce

A unique future

  • a distinctive hybrid of historic and new
  • a place for creativity and innovation
  • equipped for future challenges

A green town

Helping to meet the borough’s challenging climate change targets and encouraging a healthier lifestyle by making the town centre more walkable and cycle-friendly. In addition to the existing green spaces such as Eastrop Park and War Memorial Park, the vision is to create a ‘greener’ feel by creating new pockets of green spaces as well as new planting throughout to improve the area’s biodiversity.

Network of smaller spaces and planting throughout the town centre
The image shows a network of smaller spaces and planting throughout the town centre.

A compact town

The existing road network makes almost every journey easy by car.  The potential for reducing car use for short trips across and through the town centre will make it a nicer place to be and support healthy choices. More walking and cycling for short trips would also reduce the demand for parking. The ideas for changes to the road network will be tested through more detailed studies working together with Hampshire County Council as the highways authority.

Existing network which makes almost every journey easy by car. We need to tip the balance towards active and sustainable travel
The image shows the existing network which makes almost every journey easy by car. We need to tip the balance towards active and sustainable travel.

Further suggestions in the Masterplan include the introduction of a series of traffic zones within the ring road. Buses, pedestrians and cyclists will still be able to make direct and easy connections, but the zones will see traffic using the ring road to travel from one zone to another rather than cut through the town centre.  

We know that private car use will continue to be a significant way that people travel to the town centre, particularly from surrounding countryside and villages. People will still be able to drive to Basingstoke and park to work, shop and meet.  

Traffic zones could be implemented to reduce traffic through the town centre and encourage more walking and cycling.
The image shows how traffic zones could be implemented to reduce traffic through the town centre and encourage more walking and cycling.

A resilient town

To ensure the town centre is a vibrant hub during the day and night, the area needs to create opportunities for a range of different uses. Reimagining the current town centre to include more traditional streets and other areas will mean that Basingstoke is not so reliant on the success of retail and can open up space for community and cultural uses, workspace, education and new homes.

The Malls. The shopping centres will need to adapt to ensure the town centre is not so reliant on retail and has a range of uses.
The image shows The Malls. The shopping centres will need to adapt to ensure the town centre is not so reliant on retail and has a range of uses.

A unique future

Integrating and embracing the different aspects of Basingstoke’s character to create a dynamic hybrid and delivering places where the uses are not tightly planned or programmed, allowing people to contribute their own creativity and enterprise.

Different aspects of Basingstoke's character.
The images show the different aspects of Basingstoke’s character.

Development opportunities

To bring the Vision and Masterplan principles to life, a series of short and longer-term early options have been developed to improve and integrate the existing parts of the town centre.

Overview of the town centre area and options to improve and open up the area.
This image shows an overview of the town centre area and options to improve and open up the area.
Location of short and long term options to change the look of town centre area.
This image shows the location of short and long term options to change the look of town centre area.
Existing Top of the Town area.
This image shows the existing Top of the Town area.
Improved car parking
This images shows early ideas to improve the Top of the Town area such as making New Road a two-way street, improving car parking and small development opportunities to support the revitalisation of the area and create a series of new green spaces.
Churchill Way
This image shows the current view of Churchill Way where it meets The Anvil.
Longer-term improvements
Longer-term improvements include reimagining The Malls, creating a new bus interchange, improving walking and cycling opportunities and opening up the area outside of The Anvil.

Masterplan

For more information on the short and longer-term opportunities and to view the adopted Masterplan in full, please click here