HRA 50th Annual General Meeting
Dear HRA members,
You are invited to the HRA 50th AGM on Thursday 12 November 2026, 7.00pm, Highfield Church Hall, Highfield Lane SO17 1RL
AGM Sign in from 6:45pm
Bring your membership card for swift entry. Members who are due to renew are requested to do so in advance of the meeting.
There will be a short formal meeting followed by the presentation of prizes for the HRA@50 Photo Competition by Satvir Kaur, MP.
A members’ reception will follow. Baron Alan Whitehead of St. Mary’s City of Southampton will propose a congratulatory toast for HRA@50.
HRA AGM CHAIR’S REPORT 2026
HRA’s fiftieth year has been as successful as any in our history. That we have done so well – though our members must judge – is largely due to the tireless efforts of our Committee and especially our Hon Sec, Barbara Claridge, who as well as being an excellent Hon Sec also planned and organised our programme of celebratory events, and our Communications Officer, Nadine Johnson, who as well as handling our communications superbly, is also the manager of our highly effective Crime Information Sharing WhatsApp Group. I should like to thank them, the Committee, the Ward Councillors and our friends from the University of Southampton and other Residents Associations whose attendance at our meetings and involvement in our activities is greatly appreciated and never taken for granted. A special thanks also to Treasurer Martin Benning, who keeps a close eye on the accounts, to Nicolla Martin our Membership Secretary and to Ken Burtenshaw for all his excellent design work on the Newsletter and other publications. I should also like to thank our Street Representatives who nobly assist with Newsletter distribution and other tasks. Thank you all very much.
Turning to what we have been doing this year, Planning continues to be central. Our campaign – along with Oakmount Triangle Residents Association and Ward Councillors – against the University’s proposals to put new student accommodation blocks on the Avenue Campus was successful. We don’t know whether it was the intense local opposition to the scheme which was the crucial factor in the University’s decision but it was certainly one important factor. However we were unsuccessful in preventing the plans by Fusion to install a number of student accommodation blocks in place of the Portswood Shopping Centre. It should be noted that our three Ward Councillors all opposed the scheme which went through only on the casting vote of the Chair of the Planning Panel, a Councillor from another Ward. I have since written to the Chair of the Panel inviting her to share her thinking with us but have received no response. We understand that after all this, the developers may now be intending to sell the land which may well be a long process. However, the good news in the interim, is that Councillors, particularly John Savage, secured interest and some funding for the murals to be painted on the Fusion building hoardings making Portswood much brighter and welcoming. With the recent publication of the Public Realm proposal for Portswood we may even have some trees soon. We urge you to look at these proposals and make comments.
Finally on Planning, we have welcomed and supported the effort to develop a plan for Portswood being led by our local Ward Councillors. We also look forward to contributing to the development of the City Plan – somewhat confusingly, called the Local Plan – over the next year.
Perhaps the most controversial issues in recent years have been the Council’s attempts to control traffic in the Broadway and the surrounding streets, including the subsequently discarded Bus-gate in the Broadway. At the time of writing this we still await detailed proposals for improving safety in the ATZ, but I would emphasise here that HRA has always aimed to give careful and constructive feedback to the Council and that our comments have always been given on behalf of our area as a whole and not just one of two parts. This will continue to be the case.
Along with Planning, Crime and Anti-social Behaviour continues to be a major concern, especially in the Broadway. We welcomed the City Council’s decision to renew the Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) from the start of the year. This gives the Council and the police enhanced powers to maintain good order in the area covered. However, we were concerned that for much of the year the new order did not seem to have had much effect. More recently, there has been an improvement following the issuance of two Dispersal Orders, and we hope that this improvement will be sustained, including through the Council’s street scene proposals just mentioned. In the same vein, we welcome the Council’s reported intention to introduce a PSPO for the Common but, once again, we are concerned about its likely effectiveness if sufficient resources and intent are not dedicated to its enforcement.
I’ve not so far said much about the Association itself. Our case work on behalf of members continues and our finances continue to be robust, as you will be able to see from the Accounts. However we appear to have shed some members since the last AGM, possibly from people neglecting to renew as well as the inevitable churn in ownership. So I urge everyone interested to join or rejoin us so that we can look forward to a further 50 years of activity on behalf of the area and the local community (our website shows you how).
Renew your membership in advance:
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