Portswood

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Portswood shopping centre

Map showing Portswood within Southampton

Map showing Southampton within England

Portswood is a district of Southampton, England near Highfield. It is to the northeast of the city centre; bounded by (clockwise from West) Freemantle, Highfield, Swaythling, St. Denys and Bevois Valley.

The area is close to the main campus of the University of Southampton. As such, it includes much student accommodation in multiple-occupancy converted housing. The main thoroughfare, Portswood Road, has many student bars as well as takeaways and shops; a number of these are charity shops, selling mainly second-hand clothes, toys, books, music and films. Portswood library is the only library in Southampton to sell withdrawn books to the public. Opened as a Carnegie library in 1915, it has recently been upgraded with new IT facilities for the general public, funded from a National Lottery grant.

Portswood (and Bevois Valley) are increasingly seen as home to Southampton's burgeoning music scene, with many Portswood venues now offering regular live music and opportunities for local musicians as well as nationally and internationally acclaimed acts.

Portswood's image is viewed as slightly tarnished by some, who point to its location just north of the red-light district. However, a makeover of the upper side of Portswood is planned by Sainsbury's, with shops, a medical centre and low-cost housing for key workers, on the site of the bus station which lies on a triangle between Belmont Road, St. Denys Road and Portswood Road.

The nearest rail station is St Denys.

Districts and suburbs of the City of Southampton