Leigh Park Shopping Centre could be revamped with cash for new businesses to fill empty shops

Havant borough councillors will decide next week on whether to allocate £170,000 for a capital grant scheme to regenerate the area. Echoing a similar policy used in Waterlooville, the proposal aims to encourage local entrepreneurs to “set up businesses in the borough that create jobs and bring vibrancy back to the key shopping area within Leigh Park”.

Council reports add that local shopping centres, over the past few decades, have suffered due to “globalisation and internet shopping” resulting in independent traders finding it “more difficult to establish themselves on the high street”.

It also describes local shopping precincts as a “lifeline” for the elderly and deprived residents who may not meet the cost of public transport to shop elsewhere.

The Greywell Shopping Centre and Park Parade have 85 shop spaces, of which 12 are left empty – it adds that 20 per cent of the open shops are in the hair and beauty sector. Through the scheme, the council will seek bids from leisure, culture, entertainment and healthcare in particular to offer “a more diverse offer for shoppers”.

If approved, the council will invite businesses to express their interest in the scheme, the strong candidates will then be asked to submit formal applications – grant awards are expected to be made in early 2024.

Unlike the Waterlooville scheme, which was funded through central government grants, the £170,00 will be taken from the regeneration reserve which was created following the sale of the Brockhampton West site.