Town Mills tree planting
Roots firmly planted in Riverside Park as Town Mills development nears completion
Andover residents can look forward to their new Riverside Park opening soon as the Town Mills redevelopment enters the final stages of work.
Last week saw 11 new trees planted in the town centre park, each possessing a different quality and providing beautiful blooms during all seasons. The trees will add height and depth to the space, whilst offering plenty of shady spots in the summer months and the new greenery will bring an air of peace and tranquillity to the centre of Andover.
The idea to transform the Town Mills area first came to light in 2017, when a desire to improve the route through the centre of Andover identified Town Mills as a key location that could be developed to achieve this. The area has historically been a place where people have stopped to view the river, though restricted space has made it difficult for pedestrians to pass by.
The new Riverside Park will have dedicated stopping places and a number of new benches have been installed. The development of a section of the car park outside of Town Mills will also help to widen the green space that will soon be available to the public.
Not only will the park offer a relaxing spot, in which people can play, picnic and enjoy the river, but a key function of the area will be to offer an attractive route through the centre of town. A new footpath and cycleway has been designed to gently wind between the north and south of the park and circular seating areas have been positioned to carefully interject into the pathway to encourage fluid travel through the area.
New railings are to be installed next month and this will offer a much clearer view from inside and outside of the park, as well as establishing a more formal park edging.
Leader of Test Valley Borough Council, Councillor Phil North, said “After a difficult year, we’re now incredibly close to seeing this project reach completion. Everyone has been working so hard to develop the area and create something truly special for Andover. With spring just around the corner and the roadmap for the lifting of restrictions announced, it will be a perfect time for us all to make the most of the new park and really embrace all that Andover has to offer.”
Final touches are currently being completed which include the resurfacing of the footpaths within the Riverside Park as well as the installation of a water refill station.
Councillor Rob Humby, Deputy Leader of Hampshire County Council and Executive Member for Economy, Transport and Environment, said: “We are keen to actively support our market towns across Hampshire and we are investing capital funds to help them prosper. We are pleased to be supporting Test Valley Borough Council’s regeneration plans for Andover Town Centre, and help meet their ambition to make the town centre become a more attractive area for shoppers, pedestrians and cyclists.”
The development marks the start of the overall transformation of Andover town centre, following the launch of the town centre masterplan which was presented to the public last year. The redevelopment of the area surrounding Town Mills is a joint project between Test Valley Borough Council, Hampshire County Council and Andover Vision and has received more than half a million pounds in funding from the EM3 Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP).
For more information about the scheme visit the County Council’s web pages: https://www.hants.gov.uk/transport/transportschemes/andovertownmill