Town centres have a vital role in forming a focal point and providing a range of services that are accessible for all regardless of mobility. The Government’s key objectives are to ensure town centres have vitality and viability through the growth, development, promotion and enhancement of existing centres which offer a wide range of services that are accessible by all of the community. Planning Policy Statement (PPS) 6: Planning for Town Centres advocates health checks as a means of monitoring vitality and viability.
This is Eastleigh Borough Council’s inaugural health check and will monitor on an annual basis the vitality and viability of the town centre. A range of indicators will be used to monitor this, and it is anticipated that over time trends can be established.
Eastleigh in the context of the draft South East Plan is defined as a secondary regional centre, which will form part of the strategic network of towns across the south east. Within the Partnership for Urban South Hampshire (PUSH) area, Eastleigh is defined as a large town centre. To give an idea of this in context, Fareham is also a large town centre, whilst Gosport and Havant are small town centres, and Southampton and Portsmouth regional centres.
For more information regarding Eastleigh Town Centre Health Check 2008/09 (opens a pdf document)