Test Valley wants a £2.3m design team for the Romsey bus station and Crosfield Hall scheme by 21 October. It starts ten months later than first planned.
Test Valley Borough Council is looking for the architects who will redesign the south of Romsey town centre. The contract is worth £2.3 million before VAT and bids close at noon on Wednesday 21 October.
The winning team will design the whole scheme. It covers the bus station, the Broadwater Road car park and the Crosfield Hall site. It is due to start work in January 2027.
That is about ten months later than the council’s own timetable. When councillors approved the plan in December 2025, the design team was due to be in place by March 2026.
Romsey is about 15 miles south of Andover as the crow flies. Both towns are run by Test Valley, which is funding the design work from its regeneration budget.
What the scheme includes
The council’s news release of 21 September lists five main parts:
- a new community building
- a new bus station
- a public plaza
- green space
- a decked car park
The report councillors approved on 3 December 2025 puts each piece in place:
- The community building goes on the current bus station site, alongside some homes and shops.
- The bus station moves onto the Broadwater Road car park.
- The decked car park goes on the Crosfield Hall site, with about 285 spaces. The two car parks it replaces hold 200 between them.
- Crosfield Hall stays open until the new community building is ready. It is then demolished to make way for the car park.
The report was frank about the trade-off. Parking would end up further from the shops than it is now, but the community building would be closer.
The mix of homes and shops is not settled. The report said the amount of each would be tested at the design stage. Romsey and District Society had asked the council to drop them altogether, to leave more room for public space.
The cost
The December report estimated the chosen option at £21.1 million, with a range of £19 million to £23.2 million. That figure is before inflation.
Around £9 million of the cost was expected to come back from selling the homes and commercial space. If the design team shrinks those, the council would have to find the money elsewhere.
Councillors set aside £3.5 million for all the design stages. That was £2 million already agreed in February 2024, plus £1.5 million added in December, according to the printed minutes. The £2.3 million design contract comes out of that pot. The money to build it still needs a separate vote of the full council.
What the tender asks for
The Find a Tender notice was published on 16 September. It sets out how the council will choose:
| Stage | Weight |
|---|---|
| Written technical answers | 55% |
| Price | 30% |
| Interview | 15% |
Two of the technical tests stand out for Romsey residents. Bidders are scored on “Site Reality: Evidence of First-Hand Engagement” and on “Community Sensitivity and Consultation Maturity”, at 10% each.
The key dates are:
- 14 October: last day for bidders’ questions
- 21 October, noon: first-stage bids close
- 13 January 2027: the council aims to have chosen a team
- 28 January 2027: the contract starts, and runs to January 2032
The council plans to invite the top five first-stage bidders to the second round. Each will have to visit the site with council officers.
The contract runs through to RIBA Stage 7, the architects’ term for the building in use. So the same team would see the scheme from drawings to opening, the tender portal says.
How long this has taken
The Romsey Future partnership has worked on this corner of the town since 2016. Its steps so far:
- 2019: a Citizens’ Assembly of 42 residents, one of three national pilots
- September 2020: the council adopts the masterplan
- 2024: a second Citizens’ Assembly, of 36 residents, on the community building
- November 2025: about 130 responses to an online consultation
- 3 December 2025: full council approves the preferred option
The December report called its own timetable “ambitious”. It put building work between September 2027 and March 2030. The council has not published a revised timetable.
What it means for you
Nothing changes on the ground yet. The bus station, the Broadwater Road car park and Crosfield Hall all carry on as now.
You will be asked again. The council says there will be “further engagement with the community on the design” before a planning application goes in.
Expect disruption later. The December report’s phasing starts with temporary car parking and temporary bus stops along Broadwater Road. The bus station and the Broadwater Road car park then close for demolition. The report said no option would avoid disruption.
Groups that use Crosfield Hall should not lose a venue. Keeping the hall open until the new building is ready was the reason the council picked this option over the one the 2024 Citizens’ Assembly preferred.
For planning decisions across the borough, see our Andover planning news page.
Sources
- Test Valley Borough Council, “Tender launched to appoint design team for South of Romsey Town Centre regeneration”, 21 September 2026, for the five elements, the January 2027 start and the promise of further engagement.
- Find a Tender, notice 087967-2026, Procurement of Design Led Multi-Disciplinary Team, South of Romsey Town Centre Regeneration Project, published 16 September 2026, read through the service’s open data feed, for the £2.3m value (£2.76m with VAT), the weightings, the dates, the five-bidder shortlist and the site visit.
- Mercell tender portal, CE075, for the RIBA Stage 7 scope and the noon deadline on 21 October.
- Test Valley Borough Council, Council, 3 December 2025, agenda item 10, the report “South of Romsey Town Centre Regeneration”, for the layout, the 285 spaces, the phasing, the cost table, the £9m receipts, the timetable and the consultation history.
- Test Valley Borough Council, printed minutes of Council, 3 December 2025, minute 342, for the resolutions and the £1.5m added to the £2m.
- Romsey Future, South of Town Centre project, for the 2020 masterplan and the Citizens’ Assemblies.
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