Hotel scrapped from Southampton's medieval walls revamp

The 1980s Bargate shopping centre and multi-storey car park are among the buildings demolished to make way for the redevelopment

Plans for a hotel at a redevelopment in Southampton have been dropped following the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The 240-bedroom hotel was added to the scheme in the Bargate Quarter instead of student accommodation.

The number of flats has gone up from 287 to 500 - the shopping area planned has been scaled back to about a third.

Developer, Tellon Capital, said the changes had been made because "the way people live, work, shop, and socialise has altered radically".

Previous plans featured 185 units of student accommodation.

A consultation on the proposals is being held online until 2 November after which Tellon said it intended to submit a full planning application.

Buildings, including those along Queensway and East Street, have already been demolished ahead of work starting on the redevelopment.

Southampton's town walls

• The oldest sections, Bargate and Eastgate, date from 1180 - alterations were made in about 1290

• They were extended following the devastating French raid of 1338. Edward III ordered that walls be built to "close the town", with the western walls completed in 1380

• The walls - including eight gates and 29 towers - stretched for one and a quarter miles, with the Bargate as the entrance to the medieval town

• In the late 19th Century an idea to demolish the Bargate as an impediment to traffic was defeated following a public campaign. But in the 1930s the adjoining walls were removed to allow traffic to flow on either side

• Roughly half of the walls, 13 of the original towers and six gates are standing, making them some of the most complete medieval town walls in the country

Source: Southampton City Council