The County Council is delivering the scheme, working closely with National Highways, and has appointed VolkerFitzpatrick as the contractor. The estimated completion date is late 2026.
Councillor Nick Adams-King, Leader of Hampshire County Council, said: “It is vital that the right infrastructure is in place to unlock the full potential of Welborne Garden Village. Therefore, it is positive news that all the necessary formal agreements have been completed, allowing us to press on with the delivery of these important road improvements, funded by Buckland Group and Homes England. Investment of this scale is a vote of confidence in Hampshire, helping to generate jobs and boost economic growth. Recently completed preparatory work on site has enabled us to progress swiftly into full delivery of the main scheme. We will be providing regular updates to ensure road users and residents are kept fully informed as we continue the delivery of this major transport project.”
Mark Thistlethwayte, Chairman of Buckland Group, the Master Developer of Welborne said: “These upgrades will improve local connectivity and traffic flow, connecting Fareham as well as Welborne and the A32 to the M27 in both directions. Buckland has agreed to underwrite over 95% of a £100m+ funding package for this critical regional infrastructure project, supported by Housing Infrastructure funding from Homes England.”
Pauline Schaffer, Director, Infrastructure Funding, Homes England said: “The latest milestone in the M27 Junction 10 improvement scheme is an excellent example of how funding from Homes England is helping to create vital infrastructure to unlock new homes and thriving places people can be proud of. It's great to see Welborne Garden Village moving forward and we look forward to continuing to support both Hampshire County Council and Fareham Borough Council to achieve their ambitions.”
Andrew Jackson, National Highways Programme Manager, said: “We are looking forward to working closely with Hampshire County Council to deliver the M27 junction 10 improvement scheme, making people’s journeys on the local and strategic road network better and safer.”
Councillor Simon Martin, Executive Leader of Fareham Borough Council, said: “This Council has been clear from the outset that it is imperative that the new community of 6,000 homes, supporting facilities and employment provision being created at Welborne Garden Village is accompanied by all the necessary infrastructure to ensure that it fully realises its potential, without unduly affecting surrounding communities. Following extensive work between Government departments and agencies, Hampshire County Council, Fareham Borough Council, and the Master Developer/landowner, it is fantastic news that full funding for the essential M27 Junction 10 works needed to support the delivery of Welborne has been secured and that construction of this project will begin imminently.”
Most of the construction work for the scheme will be on land away from the existing public highway to minimise disruption. However, to ensure that key elements of the work can be carried out safely, there will be some temporary impacts for road users. There is currently reduced capacity on the A32 north of the M27 and south of the Knowle roundabout, with one lane open in each direction. This arrangement is expected to stay in place until early 2026. In addition, there are over-night closures currently in place on the A32 and M27 Junction 10 east-bound on-slip road, and westbound exit slip road until Thursday 24 October.
Over the Christmas period in 2025, a new underpass will be installed under the M27 just west of the existing A32 overbridge. The underpass will be pre-constructed as a concrete box on land next to the M27 and then slid into position using an innovative ‘boxslide’ engineering approach, significantly shortening the construction time and reducing disruption to motorway users. This will require a full closure of the M27 between Junction 9 and 11 over the 2025 Christmas week next year when traffic levels are lower. Closure dates and travel advice will be provided in advance of this important phase of the scheme once the work plans are finalised.
Regular updates about the scheme including travel impacts will be available from Hampshire County Council’s website www.hants.gov.uk/transport/transportschemes/m27junction10 – and through Hampshire County Council’s social media accounts. People can sign up for email updates via these webpages.