The Chantry Centre, Andover
Business boost as centre charges continue to fall
Businesses in the Chantry Centre are set to see their total service charge fall by more than £100k for 2021, providing a vital boost to retailers impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.
The eight percent decrease follows a £150k reduction in 2020 for the charge which covers the management, promotion and maintenance of the centre.
But businesses will still receive the same level of support as they have in previous years, as the council has identified significant cost savings and more efficient ways of delivering the same services.
Last year, the council announced that it would be making improvements to the centre. Since then it has completely refurbished the lifts in the multi-storey car park, progressed work to repair the leaking roof which has plagued the mall for years, upgraded the CCTV system and installed a new Wi-Fi system in association with Andover BID. They have also completely refurbished the toilets by the bus station.
With the reduction in the overall service charge bill, the vast majority of tenants will see their service charge fall, while a handful will have their charges frozen at 2020 levels. Before the council acquired the Chantry Centre in 2019, tenants would generally see a year-on-year increase in their service charge.
Leader of Test Valley Borough Council, councillor Phil North, said: “I’m clear that rejuvenating our town centres is our number one priority - and as soon as the council purchased the Chantry Centre last year we’ve been working hard to reduce costs for our retailers. This is the second year in a row that we’ve driven down the service charge, saving businesses a quarter of a million pounds.
“Although we’ve got plans for a fundamental redevelopment of the Chantry Centre in the coming years, it’s imperative that we do all we can to keep those businesses trading in Andover. We will, therefore, continue to forensically analyse the service charge to identify any further cost savings without compromising the level of support and quality of services the businesses receive in return.”
The council has written to all tenants with details of the service charge for 2021.