M27 Junction 10 improvements

In October 2024 Hampshire County Council confirmed that the funding and legal agreements were in place to enable the M27 Junction 10 improvement scheme to progress into the main works stage. The scheme will provide the highways infrastructure to help facilitate the delivery of new homes and jobs at Welborne Garden Village near Fareham. This is fantastic news and a key milestone for this long-awaited scheme.

The County Council agreed to become the delivery body for the M27 Junction 10 improvement scheme in July 2021, subject to all funding being formally agreed and provided by other parties. Preparatory work commenced in summer 2024 with some advanced funding. Now the funding agreements are in place this will enable the main works to now start in earnest. The scheme is expected to complete in autumn/winter 2026.

The County Council appointed Volker Fitzpatrick as the design and build contractor for the scheme in August 2022. VolkerFitzpatrick and their lead Designer Ramboll have brought significant expertise to the project team and have been working hard for the last two years to complete the detailed design and approval processes.

There is a legal Agreement in place with National Highways that provides authority for the County Council to undertake work on their behalf on the M27 – part of the national Strategic Road Network. National Highways have a rigorous approval process which requires the County Council to pass each stage of the design and delivery before moving onto the next. Following the completion of the relevant National Highways approvals, along with the recent confirmation of funding, the scheme can now continue into the main construction phase.

For information on the M27 generally please see National Highways website.

The M27 Junction 10 currently has restricted access, only allowing partial movements for traffic travelling in a westbound off and eastbound on direction. A package of highway upgrades are needed to help bring forward the development of Welborne Garden Village to the north of Fareham.

The upgrade to Junction 10 is one part of the package. The scheme will involve the construction of a new motorway underpass to the west of the existing M27 Junction 10 and A32; the provision of three new slip roads and removal of the existing west-bound off loop; and the construction of a new dual carriageway to link the new slip roads to the existing road network to facilitate an ‘all moves’ arrangement; and provision for pedestrians cyclists and horses.

Please see the M27 J10 General Arrangement Plan (Microsoft Sway document) and below is an artist impression of what the scheme and underpass will look like upon completion.

It is essential that Junction 10 is upgraded to an all moves junction to cater for the predicted new traffic movements which will be generated by Welborne. The upgraded junction will make a very significant contribution to the local economy, enabling much needed new housing, amenities and jobs to be constructed at the Garden Village.

Welborne Garden Village is located to the north of Fareham and the M27 Junction 10 and adjacent to the A32. Welborne is a regionally significant development site being promoted by Fareham Borough Council through their adopted Welborne Plan (2015). The planned Welborne development, will comprise 6,000 new homes and 9,7250m of employment space which aims to create more than 5,700 new jobs. The proposed site includes a district centre, supporting neighbourhood centres, a new secondary school and three new primary schools.

In September 2021 Full Planning Permission was granted for the M27 Junction 10 Improvement, (as part of the Planning Application for the wider Welborne) by Fareham Borough Council as the determining Local Planning Authority. Whilst homes are already being constructed on the northern parts of the Welborne site, as part of the approved development at Welborne there is a planning restriction which limits the number of homes to 1160 that can be occupied before the new junction is open to traffic.

The highway improvements at M27 Junction 10 will help to ensure that the Welborne site will be well connected to the wider south coast strategic transport network to help attract business and investment into the area. Local residents will also benefit from the upgrade which aims to improve safety and alleviate the congestion on local roads by removing the need for u-turning traffic on the A32 and at the M27 Junction 11 for traffic wishing to head west.

As part of the planning application for Welborne Garden Village, cycle and walking facilities are being created, along with new bridleway provision, to improve connectivity through the site and beyond to Fareham town centre, bus and railway stations and for recreational purposes. For more information about the developer’s commitments to improve active travel connections, please visit the Welborne website and access plan.

As part of the M27 Junction 10 upgrade, new and replacement existing pedestrian, cycle and bridleway routes will be provided. The routes will be constructed: alongside the new highway; to the north and south of the motorway and underneath the motorway, to connect into the wider Welborne active travel network. To enable the work to take place safely and the new routes to be created, some existing Rights of Way will need to be either temporarily or permanently closed or diverted. Routes already closed include: Footpath 89 to the north of the motorway, and part of Footpath 90 along Kneller Court and underneath the motorway. Part of the new bridleway running from Funtley Hill south of the motorway linking to Kneller Court is already completed and this route will ultimately head further east before connecting to Kiln Road as an alternative route to the existing Footpath 90.

To provide the necessary statutory approvals to amend the existing highway rights, a statutory ‘Orders’ ‘process had to be followed resulting in confirmation of the Orders by the Secretary of State in March 2023. Details of the Confirmation of the Orders can be seen on the following link; The Notice of Confirmation of the Order.

The scheme is being funded by Buckland Group, the developer of Welborne Garden Village via a Section 106 Agreement and by Homes England.

Visit One.Network which is where the planned works are published and is an independent platform that allows real-time monitoring of all the UK’s roadworks and diversions.

My Journey - travel information and travel advice choices in Hampshire.

Name Highways, Engineering and Transport
Email [email protected]
Phone 0300 555 1388

Address
Universal Services
Hampshire County Council
The Castle
Winchester
SO23 8UD