In 2020, working alongside NEW Masterplanning, HemingwayDesign completed a Vision and masterplan for Andover town centre. Our team worked closely with Test Valley Borough Council, with extensive consultation with Town Council officers and members, key employers, local retailers and the local community to secure widespread support for a comprehensive redevelopment focused on four key proposals:
1. Redevelopment of the Chantry Centre, an outdated and unattractive town centre shopping centre, recently acquired by the Council.
2. Development of a ‘WellBeing Quarter’, focusing on creating new green space for the town centre to promote physical and mental health.
3. Opening up the River Anton, currently ‘trapped’ inside a four lane gyratory. The proposals create a new pedestrian and cycle route with access to the river, enhancing the ‘shop window’ of the town centre and opening up land for a new town centre riverfront.
4. Reducing the scale of the Ring Road and creating new ‘civic’ streets. Improving facilities for walking and cycling, and freeing land up for larger parks, new green space and new development opportunities.
The proposals are supported by a public realm, meanwhile uses, and events strategy to maintain business confidence and support independent retailers. A variety of events, including a 5-day ‘pop-up’ shop to display the proposals and online surveys meant that more than 3,000 people were involved in shaping the strategy.
View the full Vision and masterplan report here.
The Vision and masterplan highlighted the importance of meanwhile activations, pop-up activity, and events to bring together the local community, help to create identity, and to give residents and visitors the gift of surprise and entertainment, helping increase visitor satisfaction and town centre footfall.
It made sense that the next step was to work with TVBC on an ‘event and meanwhile strategy’ for the town centre. The strategy explored ways Andover could be bold coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic, creating proposals for place-specific markets, events and meanwhile uses.
Andover and its surrounding towns and villages are packed with talent – designing, making, cooking, crafting, and brewing. With this in mind, we knew it was time to do what we do best and work with our client to produce a creative-led independent market.
During spring 2022 our team compiled an extensive list of local craftspeople, producers, and street food traders to call upon, devised a visual identity, comms plan, and established a set of values to set the tone for the event (to align with the Andover place brand that we had also recently completed) and help TVBC identify traders going forward.
Second Sundays brings together some of the best local producers, designer-makers, and artists in the region, alongside street food, live DJs, and free creative workshops, on the second Sunday of every month in Andover town centre.
Following a successful launch in June 2022, Second Sundays has gone from strength to strength, building on both trader and visitor numbers each month.
HemingwayDesign led a consortium to deliver the Regeneration Masterplan for Andover Town Centre. They employed a high level of quality community engagement that generated an overwhelming groundswell of support for the Masterplan (over 97% in favour). The masterplan itself is innovative and grounded in commercial reality, meaning that it is deliverable and will be transformational.
Paul Ramshaw, Regeneration Manager, Test Valley Borough Council