Revamp for Hampshire market town

With its historic market square, Ringwood has been popular with the community and visitors for generations, but how should it look in years to come?

That’s what the group forming the town’s Neighbourhood Plan are hoping to set out and they need your help.

Members of the Plan’s steering committee have been canvassing shoppers and shopkeepers to get their views on the town centre and have launched a new online survey to get your views.

• What would improve the town?

• Does it need more independent shops?

• More cafes?

*More parking?

Janet Georgiou, a local resident and key member of the Plan’s committee, said: “We want the whole of the shopping area to grow and thrive, with the marketplace not just a place we gather at Christmas and the Carnival, but somewhere we eat, greet, meet, and shop.

"Somewhere that visitors recognise as the centre of a market town, connecting the Furlong, high street and beyond to the parks, green spaces, and cycleways that surround us."

Janet has been out asking shoppers what they think and urges as many people to take part as possible: “The feedback we’re getting from the community is excellent. People are engaged with what we want to achieve.”

The survey received more than 320 responses in the first 24 hours of going live, with residents commenting on the town’s friendly atmosphere and its range of independent and diverse shops.

The survey is the first of many those involved in the Neighbourhood Plan want to ask as they aim to establish a vision of Ringwood in 2050, addressing present issues and hoping to make the town more self-sustaining and resilient.

Click here to have your say.