Titchfield Haven visitor centre: new community bid submitted

The council is selling the centre's reception, café and shop

A new proposal to take over a nature reserve visitor centre has been submitted by a community group.

Haven House at Titchfield Haven National Nature Reserve, near Fareham, has been put up for sale by Hampshire County Council.

A bid by Titchfield Haven Community Hub (THCH) to take over the centre and now-closed cafe was rejected by the council last month as not fully costed.

The group has submitted a new plan which it said was financially viable.

The visitor centre was scaled down and the cafe closed in December, with the council saying at the time the move would "tackle a projected £1.8m funding gap" over the next three years.

It also said it would provide it with money to help with the upkeep of the internationally-important nature reserve.

A council report said THCH's initial plans - along with a proposal from Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust to take over the reserve itself - were not "viable or fully costed".

THCH's Pamela Charlwood insisted the community could successfully run the visitor centre

THCH's Pamela Charlwood said the building was "so much a central part of this community".

She said the group's revised plan, including a "cash component", would save the council having to spend up to £600,000 on new visitor facilities, boost visitor numbers and and contribute to the reserves running costs.

She insisted the bid was achievable, with the group also having secured a match funded grant from the government's community ownership fund of £186,000.

Sean Woodward, leader of Fareham Borough Council, said HCC was "wrong and shortsighted".

He said: "If you sell capital to pay for running costs, you can only sell the family silver off once.

"If Haven House is bought by the community group, it would continue to provide visitor facilities, when the council is planning to spend more than £500,000 from the proceeds of the sale of Haven House for new visitor facilities - isn't that crazy?"

In a statement the council said it had provided "detailed feedback" to the group about their initial bid.

It said: "The county council is now progressing plans to sell Haven House on the open market to raise vital funds that will be ringfenced as investment for the reserve and its wildlife, ensuring we can meet our legal obligations regarding its management."