Shared Prosperity Fund
Growing spaces, growing networks, growing wellbeing
Eastleigh Borough Council has been awarded £1 million from the Government’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF). This funding will support a range of projects across the Borough
The holistic £1 million programme will enable and/or sustain delivery of a variety of workstreams, for example...
- Enhance Eastleigh Town Centre.
- Assist with the Council’s pledge to plant 160,000 trees by 2030.
- Audit and mapping the Borough’s active travel routes.
- Develop a broader, more diverse volunteer programme concerned with land maintenance.
- Encourage local food production.
- Green up our towns and local centres.
Together We Make Eastleigh: A Vision for the Future
Eastleigh Borough Council is due to unveil an exciting vision to make the town a better place for residents, businesses, and visitors. This vision is based on feedback from the community and celebrates Eastleigh’s rich history while looking to the future.
Community Engagement and Feedback
The ‘Together We Make Eastleigh’ project, funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and led by Wayne Hemingway MBE is supported by Eastleigh Town Council, Eastleigh BID, and Hampshire County Council.
Local people were invited to share their thoughts about the town centre, between September and November 2024, with over 2,500 residents, business owners, employees, students, and visitors taking part through surveys, workshops, and meetings.
Key themes from the consultation included:
- Pride in Eastleigh’s history, from its railway heritage to its role in WWII aviation.
- Concerns about empty shops, a loss of identity, and issues like antisocial behaviour.
- A desire for more diverse shops, green spaces, family-friendly facilities, and cultural events.
- The need for a safer, more welcoming town centre with better public transport and safer routes for walking and cycling.
- There was also a sense that nearby, larger towns and cities are currently more attractive to people, which offer more variety and a stronger sense of place.
Thank you again to everyone who took part in the consultation. Your input is helping to shape a better Eastleigh for the future.
Shaping the Future
The vision for Eastleigh town centre is shaped by these voices and is focused on creating a town centre that feels welcoming, vibrant, and sustainable—a place that stays true to its roots while embracing new opportunities.
It aims to:
- Support local businesses and attract more visitors.
- Improve public spaces and cultural offerings.
- Develop safer and more accessible transport links.
- Strengthen Eastleigh’s identity and community spirit.
Next Steps
The next phase of the project will involve working with local people to turn ideas into action. Hemingway Design has analysed the feedback and identified key priorities, which will shape future improvements and funding applications.
Contact Us
For more information or if you have any questions about the project, please email us at ukspf@eastleigh.gov.uk
Eastleigh Artist in Residence: Majorette Meg
Watch this video to hear artist Megan Clark-Bagnall meeting Eastleigh residents and collecting their views on Eastleigh’s past, present and future. Duration 37 minutes.
Megan Clark-Bagnall was appointed as Eastleigh’s artist in residence for summer 2024 to plan and deliver creative engagement in Eastleigh town centre; gathering current perceptions of the town and potential ideas for future activities and public art.
Funded by UK Government through the Shared Prosperity Fund, embedding an artist in the town centre consultation and regeneration process aimed to diversify the approach to engagement and embed arts at the heart of the project.
Undertaking the residency as a carnival-inspired character, ‘Majorette Meg’ ran three events investigating the past, present and possible futures of Eastleigh. She also made cameo appearances at community events and venues including Eastleigh Mela, the Library, the Community Garden and The Point to find out what local people think are the true colours of Eastleigh.
Latest news and progress
- Press release 19 September: Have Your Say! Shape the Future of Eastleigh town centre
- Press release 16 May: We’re looking for our new partners to consult on Eastleigh town centre
- Press release 9 May: Bursledon to benefit from newly refurbished community kitchen
- Press release 25 April: Plant Eastleigh to recruit volunteer and community groups
See video below on progress made on Plant Eastleigh:
- Press release 5 April 2024: Hundreds of beautiful and key trees planted across the Borough. Almost 500 trees of 14 different varieties, including disease-resistant Elms, have been planted across Eastleigh Borough as part of the Plant Eastleigh project.
- Press release 20 December 2023: Council urges residents to be a part of Plant Eastleigh
- Press release 6 December 2023: Levelling Up projects in full swing across Eastleigh Borough
The primary goal of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund is to build pride in place and increase life chances across the UK through the delivery of a wide range of interventions that reflect local need and opportunity. The UK Shared Prosperity Fund prospectus
A three-year borough-wide Investment Plan was developed and approved by local MPs, and submitted by Eastleigh Borough Council in August 2022; successfully receiving its total allocation of £1,000,000 of ringfenced grant income. The allocation of funds is split across the funding period.
The UKSPF programme ‘Growing Spaces, Growing Networks, Growing Wellbeing’ is an environmental programme, built around the Corporate Plan Priorities; ‘Protecting our environment’ and ‘Shaping places.’ It is focused on reducing inequalities in peoples’ experience, and access to green spaces. Community is at the heart of the programme with each workstream providing opportunities for the Council to engage with residents and businesses.
The revenue funded programme has been designed to leave a legacy. Partnerships, projects, and social networks developed through the programme aim to encourage residents and businesses to take pride in their local community and reduce their carbon emissions. Information gathered through audits, mapping and community engagement activities will be used to inform the development of policies in the Local Plan review.
Measures to reduce the cost of living
- New Kitchen delivered at Pilands Wood
- Community Centre to support food education programme and community café facility, reducing social isolation.
- Food education cooking sessions for targeted groups, helping residents with affordable cooking, meal planning, nutrition, energy-saving tips, and reduce food waste. (Field to fork approach linked to local growing spaces)
- Local Food Production grants reducing inequalities in access to green space, whilst enhancing the environment and improving health and wellbeing; boosting physical and mental health and strengthening community bonds through ‘growing’. (Linked to developing volunteer programme)
Support active travel enhancements
- ‘Cycle Together Eastleigh’ auditing, mapping and promoting all existing cycle routes
- Increasing awareness of existing infrastructure and developing an understanding of gaps or missing connections so relevant organisations can plan infrastructure improvement projects more effectively for the future. (Linked to town centre improvement interventions).
Improvement to town centres and high streets
- ‘Together We Make Eastleigh’ is a community-led project aiming to revitalise Eastleigh Town Centre, through the engagement of residents, businesses, and visitors; using creative initiatives and co-creation, it aims to shape a vibrant, inclusive future for the town.
- Town Centre Art in residence to explore perceptions of Eastleigh town centre
Designing out crime
- Working with partners to develop a range of positive diversionary activities for young people, manage the Eastleigh Youth Partnership newsletter and targeted detached youth work.
- Contributed towards the refurbishment of Eastleigh Energy Youth Centre, the rebuild of the Freespace Skate Park, and Shaping the future of Eastleigh Town Centre.
Improvements to local green space
- Identifying parcels of land, owned by the Borough and Parish Councils, that are appropriate for tree planting.
- Contribution towards recruitment of ‘Plant Eastleigh’ Senior Rangers (and provision of suitable equipment and trees) to develop, manage and deliver volunteer community tree planting projects; reducing isolation and developing land maintenance skills
- Green space investment projects in deprived areas?
- Apprenticeships within the Country Parks and Countryside teams to support volunteers.
Two placement students from Sparsholt College within the Country Parks and Countryside teams.
Impactful volunteering and social action projects
- ‘Walk and Talk sessions’ - Funding to develop and facilitate nature-based walks in the Council's country parks and the south of the Borough to reduce isolation, as an introduction to more formalised volunteering.
- Volunteer sessions for Eastleigh College SEN gardening group at Lakeside Country Park to develop horticulture and life skills
- Funding for volunteer programme IT infrastructure
- Funding for an enabling vehicle for volunteer programme, ‘Plant Eastleigh’ and apprenticeships
- Feasibility Studies
Access improvements for Itchen Valley water meadows (Linked to Active travel enhancements)