Hampshire County Council is proposing to build a new home at the site of its Stubbington Study Centre, in Fareham, to help meet the increasing need for residential care to support the most vulnerable children and young people both locally and nationally.
To make way for the new proposed home – which if agreed, would be funded by the government – the outdoor learning activities currently provided at Stubbington Study Centre, including residential visits for schools and other groups, would need to stop.
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The council said there are more than 100 other providers, used by Hampshire schools, that offer outdoor education opportunities.
The county council is now inviting schools, other organisations and individuals to share their feedback on proposals to repurpose the Stubbington Study Centre site, with a view to ceasing current activity at the venue from September 1, 2025.
The proposed 18-bed home would replace one at Swanwick Lodge in Southampton. The council carried out a review of potential sites, including the existing Swanwick Lodge site, but deemed it not ‘sufficiently sized to facilitate a larger home’.
“Having explored all the available options, the county council has now identified the Stubbington Study Centre site as the most appropriate,” it said.
Councillor Nick Adams-King, leader of the county council, said: “Like other local authorities, we are seeing rising demand for highly specialist residential care, growing complexity in children’s needs – and a shortage of suitable placements to support them. We now have a unique, once-in-a-generation opportunity to create a new, state-of-the-art residential home here in Hampshire, enabling our most vulnerable children to benefit from the best possible facilities while also boosting the specialist provision available nationally.
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“At the same time, we recognise that Stubbington Study Centre, while not a legal obligation for the county council to provide, is a much used and popular facility. In potentially repurposing the site, we must ensure that schools and other users can continue to access good outdoor learning opportunities, which we know are so beneficial to children’s development and wellbeing.
“There is a strong existing market of alternative providers in the local area, and we are keen to understand the views of schools and other users on both the potential benefits and challenges of sourcing outdoor learning activities from these in future. This will help us to plan for and mitigate any impacts that these changes may have on schools, other groups and individuals, ensuring that their needs continue to be met should the site be repurposed for a much-needed new specialist children’s home.”
Schools, other organisations and individuals now have until Monday, February 10 to share their feedback by using the online form on the county council’s website. Alternatively, responses can be emailed directly to strategicconsultations@hants.gov.uk.
Copies of the information pack and the response form are available on the website and versions in other languages and formats can be requested by emailing strategicconsultations@hants.gov.uk or calling 0300 555 1375.
Following the consultation, the proposal to repurpose the Stubbington Study Centre site will be scrutinised by the Hampshire 2050 and Corporate Services Select Committee on Wednesday, March 5. Subject to the committee’s agreement, this proposal would be submitted to cabinet on Tuesday, March 18.
Should the proposal be approved by the cabinet, a business case would then be submitted as required to the Government, for the provision of a specialist children’s home on the Stubbington Study Centre site.