FANTASTIC news about the shipping container project in College Street, Southampton.

It's an ideal location and a great transformation for an underused car park.

Anyone who knows me, will know I have been going on about using shipping containers for 15 years, after visiting Trinity Buoy Wharf on the Thames, which was the first office and residential container development in the UK.

Since then, cities all over the world have used them for affordable housing, shopping centres (Christchurch NZ used them after the earthquake) and creative spaces.

Bristol has a great quayside development of container cafes, bars and tiny shops.

I had always hoped to see an arts complex in Southampton made of containers on the site which became the now defunct Nuffield Southampton Theatres building.

I even came up with designs and a model container village.

Maybe if something more affordable, sustainable and quirky had been built, the theatre wouldn't have gone into administration.

I look forward to the new development and hope it will be a huge success.

Cara Sandys

Southampton