Excitement over £200m Lee-on-the-Solent development that serves as the 'final jigsaw piece'

Since 1996, Lee-on-the-Solent residents have walked among dozens of derelict buildings, abandoned by the armed forces after HMS Daedalus closed.

Part of the site was redeveloped by Wates, with an area now known as Daedalus Village.

Under the ownership of Homes England, the remaining land is up for redevelopment and residents have had their first opportunity to see what's planned for the area.

In a consultation last week, the Daedalus Waterfront Company unveiled £200m proposals for around 350 new homes and 450,000sq ft of new industrial space.

Director William Murray said: 'For decades people lived and worked here next to what is now Solent Airfield - what we are trying to do is bring that back to modern-day Lee-on-the-Solent, to create a place for people to work and call their home.

'With all the other redevelopment that has taken place, this really is the final puzzle piece to rejuvenate the waterfront.

'We want people to walk into Daedalus and feel proud of what we've built.'

According to Mr Murray, many of the historic buildings are at risk of falling apart within the next five years.

Under these plans, the old buildings will be restored and repurposed, bringing new life to the area while also preserving the heritage.

The consultation was held over two days at the Hovercraft Museum in Marine Parade West, with hundreds of residents giving their feedback.

‘Almost everyone I spoke to had positive things to say about the proposals,’ Mr Murray said.

‘The local residents’ association, councillors and others all seemed to be in favour of this development.

‘We cannot do this by ourselves, we are building this for the community and want local people to help drive this forward.

‘A lot of housing developments are parasitic - developers see the value of an area and extract that from the community to line their own pockets. That's not our goal, instead we want to add to Lee-on-the-Solent.’

SEE ALSO: Portsmouth dental crisis plunges to new depths as sale of city centre practice stalls leaving patients in 'limbo'

Lee-on-the-Solent resident Jonathan Moore, who helped organise the Lee Victory Festival commemorating the 75th anniversary of VE Day, was full of praise for the scheme.

He said: 'It's a really promising proposal and very exciting for the future of Lee-on-the-Solent.

'This development could do a lot with not only the Hovercraft Museum but also the square across from here - we could have some really great community events in that space.'

The site was put out to contractors by Homes England back in 2019.

Politicians have also been briefed about the development, and Conservative councillor for Lee, Cllr Graham Burgess, has voiced his support.

He said:’This is the best proposal I have seen for Daedalus - it brings back into use these historic buildings and brings jobs into the area.

‘I'm really excited about it. This could be a phenomenal addition to Lee-on-the-Solent.

‘I did raise concerns about the area behind the Fleet Air Arm memorial, as I don't want to see houses too far along Richmond Road, and the developers have taken that on board.’

Daedalus Waterfront Company is hoping to submit a planning application to Gosport Borough Council by the end of this year, with a view to starting construction next summer.