Concerns as £12.3m plan for Ferneham Hall set to be decided online

OBJECTIONS have been raised to a £12.3m plan to remodel Fareham’s main theatre, the Ferneham Hall.
Updated designs for the exterior of Ferneham Hall following a £12.34 redevelopment. Updated designs for the exterior of Ferneham Hall following a £12.34 redevelopment.
Updated designs for the exterior of Ferneham Hall following a £12.34 redevelopment.

The designs, which include a bigger theatre, a 19.5m fly tower, cafe and studio, are to go before Fareham Borough Council’s planning committee via video link on Wednesday, May 6.

But community groups such as The Fareham Society and Titchfield Festival Theatre have lodged objections citing the effects of noise on residents, visual appearance of the development, choice of materials, lack of consultation, among others.

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Kevin Fraser, from the Titchfield Festival Theatre, said they were also unhappy that the meeting is being held online - and he called for it to be postponed.

He said: ‘We think that £12.3m is a lot of money to spend on something that’s not needed - or that £12.3m is not enough money to meet the council’s aspiration of hosting A1 tours.

‘We wonder what is going to happen after coronavirus and question whether Fareham Borough Council should still be talking about spending such a large sum when things are so uncertain.

‘The decision will be taken online but we think they should wait for this to be heard when everything has opened back up and people can sit down and properly go through the details. It would do no harm to put it back by six months.’

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Council leader Sean Woodward said it was important decisions went ahead despite restrictions on face-to-face meetings as otherwise there could be costly delays to the scheme.

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He said: ‘We need to crack on with decision making. Things cannot just simply grind to a halt.

‘There are two options available to us - hold the meetings openly online democratically or delegate the decision to the planning officers.

‘I did not want that to happen (delegating the decision) when public deputations can be submitted and heard online.'

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He said deputations would be read out and that the public can also join this meeting to watch.

He added: 'It would be reckless in the extreme to hold a normal meeting at the present time.’

The new theatre will be managed for the council by BH Live, which operates 17 leisure and event venues across the south including the Pyramids in Southsea.

The cost of the remodelling project, which is expected to take two years to complete opening in 2022, is £12.35m.

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Cllr Woodward added: ‘It is a super project. The Ferneham Hall had served Fareham very well over many years but it had reached the stage where major refurbishment was needed.

‘As a project it is absolutely fantastic and a fantastic aspiration for the council.’

The designs have previously been approved by the council’s executive on September 26. A consultation in which 338 people took part as well as 14 regular hirers and input from industry experts was held in October 2018.

A link to the online meeting will be published on the agenda for the meeting, go to fareham.gov.uk for more.

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