The turbulent history of Ocean Village

8:51am Sunday 15th June 2008

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Since it was built in 1986 the fortunes of Ocean Village have been turbulent. As its future hangs in the balance once again we take a look back at the history of the waterfront development.

■ January 1986 Rundown warehouses and sheds at Southampton's Princess Marina Docks are torn down to make way for the new £75m marina development.

The public are invited to view plans for the 75-acre development which will eventually include a marina, multi-screen cinema, offices, luxury homes, a shopping centre and restaurants. Ocean Village is hailed as a major development to revamp the city and transform its decaying former docks.

■ July 1986 Ocean Village officially opens. The first 50 boats into the marina are greeted with a bottle of champagne.

■ November 1986 The first 20 properties at Ocean Village are snapped up before they are even completed. The homes - ranging from onebedroom apartments to four bedroom townhouses - start at about £60,000.

■ April 1987 Work begins on the second phase of the development.

The £12m extension adds 36 more shops, a quayside restaurant and more parking spaces to Canute's Pavilion, the main retail complex. More than 500,000 people have now visited Ocean village since it opened.

■ September 1987 The Echo reports that high rents are driving disappointed tenants out of Ocean Village's shopping centre Canute's Pavilion. By March 1989 even more businesses have stopped trading, prompting fears the complex could become a "multi million pound white elephant."

■ November 1987 Danny La Rue officially opens Ocean Village phase two after the Great Storm delayed launch date by a month.

■ January 1989 After 36 years guiding vessels through Southampton water the distinctive red Lightship Number 78 is lifted from her home at Calshot Spit and lowered into its resting place at Ocean Village.

■ December 1989 Cannon opens its super-cinema' at Ocean Village. It will change hands many times over the years. The current cinema on the site is owned by Cineworld.

■ April 1991 Ocean Village is dropped as an offshore power boating venue over fears the heavy development there compromises safety.

■ January 1992 100,000 square feet of office space is now occupied at Ocean Village but the dream for Canute's Pavilion as a specialist shopping haven is lost. The retail complex continues to struggle with just 41 retail units trading out of a total of 72. Three are under negotiation and 28 remain empty. Around 90 different tenants have come and gone and only nine who signed up in the first year have remained. The Daily Echo brands the complex "an ugly birthmark that refuses to fade with time".

■ December 1992 Shock news as property group Rosehaugh - a major partner in the Ocean Village development - goes into receivership.

■ July 1996 As Ocean Village continues to attract an estimated 2.5m visitors a year the ailing Canute's Pavilion undergoes a £350,000 refurbishment.

Included in the developments is "Way Out West" a new entertainment complex featuring mini bowling, children's play area and bar.

■ September 1991 Ocean Village is named as a host for the prestigious Whitbread Round the World yacht race (later the Volvo Ocean Race). An accolade it will lose to south coast rivals Portsmouth in 2005.

■ January 1999 Ocean Village is bought by Wilson Bowden Properties in a £4.5m takeover deal.