A REPORT into the future of Romsey's community facilities is not getting enough attention, according to concerned residents.

The final report by the Citizens Assembly (CA) suggests the Romsey Rapids site is still in contention for the relocation of Crosfield Hall, despite overwhelming opposition.

An assembly member, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: "After the overwhelming objections to moving it (Crosfield Hall) to Romsey Rapids, from CA and the stakeholder groups, I was concerned to read the summary of the report.

"The report says that, depending on the financial feasibility study, it might move to Romsey Rapids - it's not discounted."

Crosfield Hall, Romsey. (Image: Charles Elliman)



She continued: "The world and his wife have expressed overwhelming support for keeping the new facilities in the town centre and I hope Test Valley Borough Council (TVBC) is listening."

According to the Romsey Future site, the assembly was established to "help shape the future of the town and decide what community facilities are needed now and in years to come within the scope of the South of Romsey Town Centre."

Approached for comment, Cllr John Parker, who sits on TVBC and Romsey Town Council, said: "Until the Test Valley options paper comes out, we have no idea what the options are. 

"The CA report reports what the CA discussed and that’s an input […] but what’s happening at the moment is TVBC is working up an options paper […] which will be coming to the July council meeting, I think.

"The CA report will be one of the sources taken into account. There’s no done deal that it's going to the Rapids, or not going to the Rapids, until we’ve seen the options paper and weigh up all the options."

A spokesperson for TVBC said: "A Citizens Assembly was held in 2024 to help shape the future of Romsey and decide what community facilities are needed now and in years to come.

"A series of recommendations for what should be included in future community facilities were considered by the Assembly, informed by discussions with users of community facilities in the town, and specialist designers used these recommendations to create three site options for where future community facilities could be located.

"These were the bus station site, the current Crosfield Hall site and the Romsey Rapids site.

"To make an informed and balanced decision, the council needs to understand the feasibility and costings of each of the options, so a financial appraisal and cost benefit analysis have been commissioned.

"The outcome of this work, as well as the recommendations from the CA, will feed into the decision-making process that will be undertaken by councillors in respect of future community facility provision and other facilities for the town.

"A decision is expected in the coming months."

The report can be found at https://www.romseyfuture.org.uk/citizensassembly2024