Quiet Backwater

At present it is a quiet backwater on the northern stretches of Southampton Water, but if plans for regeneration of the waterfront at Eling come to fruition, expect dramatic changes in the future.
It is home to an active sailing club and boasts one of the few remaining tide mills in the country, with a toll bridge crossing Bartley Water where it flows into the Creek.
But if ambitious plans to develop an adjoining industrial strip of land and wharf, come to fruition there will be a striking change to the face of the wharf and the area by it.
The masterplan drawn up by owners of the industrial land and being discussed with the New Forest local authority would open up the waterfront, and bring with it new homes, a landscaped promenade through the site, connecting nearby Totton High Street  with the historic Eling Tide Mill and the present Eling Creek.
It could include a supermarket, a family pub and restaurant with a range of new shops and waterside restaurants.
Over the centuries the development area has seen shipbuilding, the timber trade, chemical works, tar distillation and the treatment of railway sleepers, but over the last 20 years, industrial activity has declined and today it is used primarily for shipping container storage just across the water from Southampton’s container terminal.
That may come in the future. On my walk along the quay today I tried to conjure up a picture of what could be in store. It certainly raises the prospect of  changing faces for this part of Southampton Water and the town of Totton and adjoining Eling.