Welborne M27 junction 10: £100m upgrade to go ahead

It comes after Hampshire County Council said it was "extremely unlikely” to meet the cost of a new-look junction 10 near Fareham unless further support was given.

As reported in the Daily Echo, a letter outlining the need for extra funding was sent to the authority's key partners.

Junction 10 will be upgraded to serve Welborne Garden Village, a 6,000-home development that will be built on fields between Fareham and Wickham.

Welborne Garden Village will comprise 6,000 homes, plus a raft of community facilities (Image: Buckland Group)

The final funding package is being put together by the main developer, Buckland Group, which is working in conjunction with the county council and Fareham Borough Council, supported by Homes England.

Preparatory work on the M27 improvement scheme is already underway.

READ MORE: M27 junction 10 funding uncertain as work on 6,000-home Welborne scheme begins

A Buckland spokesperson said: "The junction 10 upgrades are critical to improving connectivity and traffic flow in the local area, connecting Fareham as well as Welborne and the A32 to the M27 in both directions.

“To advance this important regional infrastructure project, Buckland has agreed to underwrite over 95 per cent of a £100m-plus funding package, supported by housing infrastructure funding from Homes England.

"Hampshire County Council will deliver the junction 10 scheme, with National Highways.

“The upgrade will be delivered within the next two years, during the first phase of Welborne, and it means all of the 6,000 planned homes can now be built in the future."

Welborne Garden Village will comprise 6,000 homes, plus a raft of community facilities (Image: Buckland)

A county council spokesperson added: "It is vital that the necessary road infrastructure at M27 junction 10 is in place to support the growth of the new community at Welborne and residents in the wider area.

"We are pleased that preparatory work has now started on site to enable the project to quickly mobilise once legal agreements are finalised.”

READ MORE: Welborne Garden Village design codes given the green light

Fareham Borough Council has also welcomed the latest developments.

A spokesperson said: "It is essential for the necessary infrastructure to be in place to support the delivery of Welborne Garden Village, with the M27 Junction 10 upgrade being the single largest investment required.

"The progress being made on concluding the funding arrangements to enable the delivery of this scheme is very welcome.”

As reported in the Daily Echo, junction 10 will be converted into an "all ways" interchange because the current layout only allows drivers to join the M27 eastbound – towards Portsmouth – and leave it westbound.

The upgrade includes three new slip roads and a dual carriageway linking them to the existing road network.