Long-awaited Stubbington bypass wins £25.7m funding

Gosport MP Caroline Dinenage said the road would address "terrible congestion" on the peninsula

A long-awaited bypass to ease "terrible congestion" in part of Hampshire will finally go ahead after the government allocated £25.7m to build it.

The Stubbington bypass near Fareham has been "an aspiration for more than 30 years", ministers said.

The award supplements £8.5m already given to the project by Hampshire County Council.

The authority said work on the road was expected to start within two years and would take about two years to complete.

The bypass will run through nearly three miles of farmland near Stubbington village, connecting the A27 with the Solent Enterprise Zone on the former Daedalus airfield.

Gosport MP Caroline Dinenage said it would "unlock £200m of private sector leverage" as well as easing "terrible congestion" on the A32 and other routes.

The government, which announced funding as part of the latest round of local Growth Deals, said road users would enjoy "particularly strong forecast benefits".

The money was awarded to the Solent Local Enterprise Partnership which submitted a bid in July, naming the bypass as a top priority.

Hampshire County Councillor Rob Humby, in charge of transport, said it was "one of the biggest schemes by far" that the authority had delivered.