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The Southampton Renaissance Vision, unveiled in February 2025, is a long-term masterplan and prospectus produced by Prior + Partners alongside the Southampton Renaissance Board and Southampton City Council. It sets out a vision to transform the city centre, focussing on making Southampton a leading destination for investment, culture, innovation and resilience. The Renaissance Masterplan has identified capacity for up to 15,000 new homes, more than 2 million sq m of commercial and non-residential floorspace and supporting community infrastructure over the next two decades.
Montagu Evans and its team’s role is to support the move from vision to delivery: devising and executing delivery strategies for key development opportunities that will enable a comprehensive programme of regeneration across the city. Its work will include detailed technical analysis by the multi-disciplinary team, followed by the creation of project or area-specific strategies covering masterplanning/design, site assembly, planning promotion, commercial structuring, funding and financing, and development partnering and procurement. Opportunities for using a Revolving Regeneration Fund will also be explored.
Alongside this, the team is appointed to review and evolve governance models at the local and city-wide levels, building on the success of the Renaissance Board and engaging with local, regional and national stakeholders. All work will be undertaken around the Renaissance Vision’s six key themes: Connected, Destination, Green, Innovation, Neighbourhoods and Waterfront.
Councillor Sarah Bogle, Cabinet Member for Economic Development at Southampton City Council, said: “I am delighted to be welcoming Montagu Evans into our Southampton Renaissance team. Montagu Evans brings in a wide range of technical expertise and experience which will support Southampton’s goals to regenerate and transform the city centre. The Southampton Renaissance Vision set out the big ambitions that we have for our city, making it a destination that capitalises on our waterfront, green spaces and innovation, and the appointment of Montagu Evans will help us in taking the big strides needed to go from Vision to reality.”
Oliver Maury, Partner at Montagu Evans and head of its Development Advisory team, said: “This is one of the most ambitious and strategically important regeneration programmes currently underway in the UK. Working closely with the Renaissance Board and wider project team, our role now is to think big and develop a clear city-wide delivery plan that will navigate complex market environments and create a platform for long-term investment, regeneration and growth. It will be essential at every stage to combine a strategic approach, commercial insight and practical delivery to ensure the vision is delivered effectively and the vision to refocus Southampton as a city of opportunity is realised.”
Montagu Evans will be leading a wider multi-disciplinary professional team, including vision masterplanner Prior + Partners as well as Grant Thornton, Mott MacDonald and Vail Williams.
The Southampton Renaissance Board includes Southampton City Council, Associated British Ports, University of Southampton, Southampton Solent University, University Hospital Southampton, Southampton Football Club, Go South Coast, Go! Southampton, Network Rail, Business South, Red Funnel, Southampton Chamber of Commerce and Southampton Forward. |
