Southampton City Council launched the Southampton City Vision on 10th February 2020. Its aim is to hear the views and ideas of those who live, work and study in the city.
With the feedback they receive, the Council hope to make long-lasting changes, and they want to encourage as many people they can to get involved in the process. The Council also hope to maximise the voices of children and young people as a means of developing the city that they will inherit in the future, using their ‘Year of the Child’ initiative to do so.
The population of Southampton is estimated to grow by 26,000 over the next two decades, and so the council is trying to think ahead and generate ways of sustainable growth. The plan is projected to cover the next thirty years, and will target issues such as housing, work-spaces, public spaces and transport infrastructure. A vital issue that will also be considered is the need to protect and enhance Southampton’s historic and natural environment.
The main areas of opportunity that the Council hopes to work on are environment and climate change, technology and the jobs market, new homes for a growing and ageing population, and travel around the city. There is also a focus on growth and investment in the city including economy, the future of the high-street, as well as culture and leisure. Leader of Southampton City Council, Councillor Christopher Hammond, has said:
We are entering a period of immense change, where we will need to face the big challenges and opportunities ahead… We want the Local Plan to improve the well-being of everybody both young and old by tackling the climate emergency, creating opportunities in the rapidly changing jobs market and building a fair economy…
Southampton has come a long way over the past few years, so it will be exciting to see where this plan takes the city in the future.
