County proposes to boost bypass plan with Â£8.5m

Traffic congestion in Newgate Lane, between Fareham and Gosport

Hampshire County Council wants to put the cash towards the construction of the relief road.

The money makes up a quarter of all the funding needed for the £34m scheme – and a bid is expected to be made to the government for the outstanding amount.

Campaigners say the county’s plan – which will be formally approved later in the year – is a major breakthrough in the battle to ease traffic congestion.

Stubbington Ukip ward councillor Chris Wood said: ‘All the way through, we have campaigned for this, and the public have had their views heard it seems.

‘I am absolutely delighted that the council is coming up with this funding requirement; it’s an absolutely vital piece of infrastructure required to ease congestion in Stubbington and ensure access to Daedalus for future job growth.’

The council says it would borrow its £8.5m share and make the money back through business rates from the Solent Enterprise Zone.

County council leader Cllr Roy Perry said: ‘Making this scheme a reality demonstrates the county council’s willingness to act, using its expertise and capacity to deliver a scheme which will benefit local people and businesses in the Gosport and Fareham areas.

‘This illustrates the scale of investment the county council is making into improving the transport infrastructure in south Hampshire.’

A report on the loan will go before members on September 19 before a final decision over whether to approve it is made on September 22.

Gosport MP Caroline Dinenage said: ‘The welcome investment in the Stubbington bypass clearly demonstrates the county council’s faith in the strong economic potential of the Gosport constituency.

‘A new peninsular access route is utterly essential for addressing the area’s crippling congestion problems and would vastly improve both the lives of local residents and the prospects for local businesses.

‘This sends a clear message to the government about how seriously both the council and other local stakeholders are about investing in the future prosperity of Gosport and Stubbington.’