Multi-billion pound business opportunities in Southampton were top of the agenda for property experts visiting Southampton.
At a conference organised by the Southampton office of commercial estate agents London Clancy, members of the PAI network were given a briefing on the city’s Master Plan which will bring 20,000 new jobs and £3billion of new investment to the city over the next 25 years.
Chris Ridge, Director of London Clancy, said:” Some of the delegates have been involved in Southampton and the Solent region in the past and they have been given a positive snapshot of how Southampton will develop over the next 25 years.”
At a briefing held at the Tudor House Museum, Southampton City Council’s Head of City Development Tim Levenson outlined the plans which include a new central business district linking from the railway station down to a revamped waterfront.
Chris Hennessy from the Liverpool office of Matthews &Goodman said the waterfront development was key to encouraging inward investment in Southampton.
“At the moment you are effectively cut off from the Southampton waterfront by the docks and the ring road.
“As you know Liverpool is looking to increase the number of cruise liners coming to the city – and the thing they like is that the ships come right into the city and everything is there when you get off the ship.
“A lot of our docks have been redeveloped for leisure and residential. I am getting regular requests from businesses who want to move to the waterfront – whereas in the past it wouldn’t have been an option.
“Liverpool has spent the past 15 -20 years improving the waterfront and now it is the place where people want to be,” he said.
President of the PAI, Mark Tillson, said: “Our members have come from as far away as Glasgow and Belfast to find out more about Southampton.
“It’s clear that rather than merely being talked about, work is underway to develop the city and what we have learned will be taken back by PAI members and promoted to their clients,” he said.
