Imagine Portsmouth is about creating a vision for the future that genuinely reflects the aspirations of the city’s people and communities. That meant speaking to lots of different people about what they would like the city to look like in the future, and how they would like living here to feel.
Facilitated by Portsmouth City Council, the project is a collaboration, bringing together voices from across the city.
The project started with workshops for more than 60 organisations in October 2019. More than 200 people from different communities and with different interests then took part in discussions at 20 focus groups, talking about what is important for the future of Portsmouth. One hundred broadly demographically representative residents then took part in a citizens’ conference on Saturday 14 March. You can read all about that here.
Imagine Portsmouth was planned before coronavirus, and all the conversations we have had so far happened before the pandemic. We know the experiences of coronavirus may have affected what people think is most important, so we are getting back in contact with the group who came to the conference, to ask them whether anything has changed. After gathering their feedback, we will be putting a city wide consultation together, so everyone will have an opportunity to have a say. Find out more here
The project is a collaboration, so the development of the city vision is being overseen by a partner board, made up of representatives from the local NHS, University of Portsmouth, Hampshire Constabulary, The Royal Navy, Hive Portsmouth, Shaping Portsmouth, Portsmouth Football Club, Portsmouth Creates, Portsmouth Education Partnership and Portsmouth City of Sanctuary.