Stubbington bypass given green light by central government

Planning permission for the road had been granted in 2015, but development was halted as objections from residents led to an inquiry.

Concerns raised included road safety, wildlife conservation, and encroachment into the strategic gap.

However, the inspectorate from the Department of Transport found there was ‘a powerful case’ for the development, which will meet ‘a clear and pressing need.’

The announcement comes as ‘good news’ for the area, according to the chairman of the Hill Head Residents Association, Bill Hutchinson.

He said: ‘As far as Stubbington and Hill Head is concerned, we do not want rat-runs in our area, with people trying to beat traffic by using residential streets.

‘The bypass will help deal with that - it won’t be a total solution, but no one road is a total solution.

‘Overall, we’re delighted.’

The bypass, which is estimated to cost more than £34m, will be an unlit single carriageway running from Titchfield Road to Gosport Road, with a shared use footway and cycleway along its length.

The leader of Fareham Borough Council, Sean Woodward, who worked on the plans for the bypass in his former role as executive member for economy, transport and environment at Hampshire County Council, said: ‘I am delighted, having made all of the original decisions at Hampshire County Council to bring forward the Access to Fareham and Gosport road improvements that this final part of that programme can now go ahead without further delay.

‘It will enhance the quality of life for residents of Stubbington by taking huge amounts of traffic away from the centre as well as providing a direct route to the Solent Enterprise Zone at our airport at Daedalus.’ 

The announcement will now enable Hampshire County Council to bring forward the delivery of the scheme.

It is hoped that work could begin ‘in a matter of months,’ according to Councillor Mark Hook, leader of Gosport Borough Council.

He said: ‘This whole process has been extremely frustrating, but I’m glad the government has come to the right decision.

‘This has to now take priority over all other highways work in the area.

'We will be pushing to make sure that happens.'

Cllr Hook said the bypass would be critical in solving the peninsula's congestion nightmare, taking traffic away from the main route out of Gosport.

He was hopefully the new multi-million pound road could boost businesses and insisted it would create more jobs.

'This is another piece of jigsaw now in place,' he added. 'This will be a major economic driver that will help to create jobs and could boost business on Daedalus.

'It will give businesses the confidence to come to Gosport knowing they can reach the motorway with ease.’

Several roads will be stopped-up during construction, including parts of Old Peake Lane, Ranvilles Lane, and Titchfield Road.