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• Managing Organisation:

  Southampton City Council

• Contact:

  Helen Mills

• Telephone:

  023 8083 2884 
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Information about this open space

Southampton Common provides 148 hectares of green space in the heart of a busy city. Only 2Km from the city centre, it is used by 90% of the city’s residents and thousands of visitors giving an estimated 2,250,000 visits per annum.  The Common offers a wide variety of uses, with something for everyone to enjoy including sport, guided walks, relaxation, fishing, a play area and paddling pool. The Common is also a major event space in the city with a year round programme of events including conservation walks and tasks, the fungus foray and larger scale events such as community fairs and the Race for Life.  The Hawthorns Urban Wildlife Centre is open 7 days a week providing visitor information and is the base for environmental education services and park events. Volunteers are involved in many aspects of The Common including practical conservation tasks, recording and consultations. The Hawthorns Wildlife Association, Southampton Commons and Parks Protection Society and the Friends of Southampton Old Cemetery are all very active and work closely with the Common management team.  The Common boasts a high biodiversity and is a major archaeological heritage site with remains dating from the Stone Age and with Saxon, Victorian and Wartime influences still clear and also contains a Scheduled Ancient Monument. It is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and includes a cemetery that is on the Register of Parks & Gardens of Special Historic Interest. The Cowherds building (now a public house) is also listed.