M275 closure for Tipner fire - Police issue update

The M275 was closed from the early hours of yesterday morning (July 6) after huge plumes of smoke spread over the motorway in all directions following a significant blaze at the waste site. The road was reopened before 9am yesterday before being closed again due to the spread of thick, black clouds of smoke.

The major road was then due to reopen yesterday evening but the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary confirmed that it would remain closed while crews from the fire service continued to deal with the fire.

The police have taken to Facebook this morning at approximately 9:10am to confirm that the road will remain closed for the ‘majority of the day’.

The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary post said: “We know that this will be disruptive to many of you and we do thank you for your patience while our colleagues at Hampshire & Isle of Wight Fire & Rescue Service deal with the ongoing fire.

“Please continue to make alternative travel arrangements today.For those of you with vehicles at the Park & Ride car park, this will be open today to collect vehicles, however the bus service has been temporarily suspended.

“The bollards have been removed between the Park & Ride and Tipner Lane, so you can reach the site via Tipner whilst the M275 is closed. Please note, when exiting the Park & Ride, please travel southbound on the M275 to Rudmore Roundabout.

“We do apologise for any inconvenience.”

There is a detour route in place so that drivers can avoid the road closure.

A spokesperson for TJ Waste & Recycling said: “We are grateful to Hampshire & Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue for attendance following reports from the public of smoke coming from our Portsmouth materials recovery facility at Tipner in the early hours of this morning. Thankfully there were no TJ staff on site.

“The seat of the fire, which has damaged the building, was in a sorting bay of non-hazardous domestic and commercial waste materials. The facility will be closed until further notice – we will be advising customers of the situation. This is the first time anything like this has happened here and we apologise for the disruption caused to the public following closure of the motorway for safety reasons.” For more information and updates about the road closue and fire, click here.