THIS WEEK IN 1972: Gosport named townof great opportunity

After 50 years of '˜dramatic' change, Gosport was said to be on the verge of great opportunities because of its unique position and unspoiled coastline.

By The Newsroom

Published 14th Nov 2016, 06:06 GMT

Updated 16th Nov 2016, 17:23 GMT

This was the view shared by speakers at a jubilee lunch in the Thorngate Halls, to mark the 50th anniversary of the borough council..

The lunch followed a special council meeting and the opening of the long-awaited £185,000 bus station at the ferry.

Southern TV presenter Barry Westwood, who proposed the toast to the golden jubilee, told 300 guests that before he moved to the area, he thought Gosport was a ‘grotty suburb of Portsmouth,’ and the Solent was ‘an oil-streaked path of sea’ between the mainland and the island.

‘How wrong can you be? Gosport has changed above the average level, and the Solent is the best piece of boating water in the world,’ he said.

Gosport Portsmouth