Hampshire has backed moving Fareham Library within the shopping centre, in principle only. Nothing is binding, and the old building is the fallback.

Hampshire County Council has agreed in principle to support moving Fareham Library to another unit inside Fareham Shopping Centre. The current building would then be demolished as part of the borough council’s town centre masterplan.

The county has not committed to anything binding. Its decision record says any further step depends on a full business case. That case must show the new unit can hold every service the library runs today, at no extra cost to the county.

Councillor Nick Adams-King, the Executive Member for Corporate Services, approved the decision on 10 September. It can still be called in until 18 September, and comes into force on 19 September if it is not.

Why the county has a say

The library sits in the part of the shopping centre that Fareham Borough Council wants to knock down. The borough bought the shopping centre in September 2023, according to its regeneration background page.

But the library building is not the borough’s to demolish. The county’s decision report says Hampshire owns the freehold. Any demolition, sale or replacement needs its formal approval.

The report says the borough intends to submit an outline planning application later this year. It includes the demolition of parts of the shopping centre, the library among them. The decision record is candid about why the county is saying yes now: support in principle lets the borough explain in that application how public services will be re-provided.

What the library does now

The report describes Fareham as a Core Tier 1 library. The building also houses:

  • the School Library Service
  • children’s and adults’ services activity
  • Citizens Advice
  • a café
  • wider community use

The county’s condition is that the replacement must be able to take all of it.

The unit on offer

Officers have looked at a potential site within the shopping centre. The report says it is broadly equivalent in overall area, but laid out differently: a smaller ground floor with additional first floor space.

That layout is not yet accepted. The report says it “requires further assessment before it can be recommended as a suitable replacement”. The list of things still unknown includes:

  • detailed design and an accessibility assessment
  • vertical circulation, meaning how people get between the floors
  • public access, staff accommodation and delivery access
  • whether partner services such as Citizens Advice can fit

An earlier option, the former Department for Work and Pensions building on Fareham High Street, was looked at and judged not feasible.

What has to happen before Fareham Library can move Hampshire County Council approved in-principle support on 10 September 2026. The call-in deadline is 18 September and the decision comes into force on 19 September. Fareham Borough Council intends to submit an outline planning application later in 2026. Before any binding commitment the county needs a full business case, a detailed design, a financial appraisal, the legal structure, consultation requirements, an equalities impact assessment and a service continuity plan. If the new unit is not suitable, keeping the library where it is remains the fallback. Fareham Library: agreed in principle, not yet decided Hampshire County Council decision report and decision record, 10 September 2026 10 Sepsupport inprinciple 18 Sepcall-indeadline 19 Sepin force ifnot called in Later in 2026borough's outlineplanning application No datefinal countydecision The new unit must hold A Core Tier 1 library The School Library Service Children's and adults' services activity Citizens Advice The café Wider community use Still needed before any commitment A full business case Detailed design and accommodation schedule Full financial appraisal Legal structure of the asset transaction Consultation and equalities impact assessment Service continuity plan Fallback named in the decision record: keep the library where it is. Graphic by Fareham News.
Graphic by Fareham News. The only thing decided so far is the first dot.

The conditions

The county has told the borough that any move must be financially neutral or better for the county. The report lists what that has to cover:

  • current and future running costs
  • the capital value of the building the county owns now
  • fit-out, occupation and lifecycle costs
  • the effect on income from third parties
  • the value of keeping the option to run services from the current site

No final financial commitment will be made until the county’s Director of People and Organisation is satisfied the proposal protects its financial and asset position.

Before any further decision the county also wants a confirmed programme for planning, demolition, construction, fit-out and opening. That includes a service continuity plan, covering temporary closure, temporary premises or a phased move if one is needed. The report does not say whether the library would have to close at any point.

Will anyone be asked?

Possibly twice. The report says a statutory or public consultation may be required if the move is a significant change to library provision.

The borough has said it will consult the public before submitting its outline planning application. The county will decide separately whether library users need their own consultation.

This is not the first time residents have been asked about the principle. The borough’s masterplan consultation ran from 13 November to 15 December 2025. It proposed the demolition of the east side of the shopping centre and the adjoining multi-storey car park, and “retention and relocation of key services such as the NHS, Job Centre, and library into improved facilities”. The borough says 580 people attended its two drop-in events and it received 232 feedback forms.

The fallback

The decision record sets out three options the county rejected or kept in reserve.

  • Refusing support now was rejected, because it could stop a potentially beneficial scheme before the detail had been tested.
  • Signing a binding agreement now was rejected, because officers do not yet know enough about cost, programme, design, consultation or the asset transfer.
  • Keeping the library where it is “remains a fallback option” if the borough cannot show the new unit is suitable.

The reorganisation question

The report says local government reorganisation “creates additional uncertainty”. If the move happened before a new council’s vesting day, the county would need firm legal and financial arrangements for transferring the asset and keeping services running. If it happened after, the report says ownership and delivery “may be simplified”.

That timetable is itself now in doubt. On 7 September, three days before the decision, the Government withdrew its reorganisation decision for Hampshire and began a further review of the programme. Fareham Borough Council said it was awaiting “urgent clarification” on what that means for the timetable. The report does not mention the withdrawal.

What it means for you

  • The library is not moving yet. Nothing in this decision authorises demolition, a sale or a relocation, and the report says so directly.
  • If you use Citizens Advice, the School Library Service or the café there, the county’s condition is that all of them move with the library, or the move does not happen on these terms.
  • Watch for the borough’s public consultation on its outline planning application. That is the next point at which residents can comment on the scheme, including the library’s future site.
  • A councillor call-in is possible until 18 September. If none is made, the in-principle support stands from 19 September.
  • For wider changes in the town centre, see our Fareham planning news page and our report on the pop-up opening in the shopping centre.

Sources