The Leader of Gosport Borough Council has welcomed a major milestone on the way to redeveloping the town’s waterfront.

Cllr Graham Burgess said a planning application for a new transport interchange was a major boost to plans to redevelop the waterfront site, near Gosport ferry terminal.

The borough council wants to bring in a developer to replace the present ageing bus station with a new waterfront area including bars, eateries and shops. But before this can happen, there needs to be a new facility for buses.

Hampshire County Council, as highways authority, has submitted a planning application for a proposed new transport interchange, made available for public comments today. A decision on whether to give planning permission is expected to be made by the county council’s regulatory committee in late spring.

Cllr Burgess said: “We’ve been working closely with Hampshire on this project and it’s great to see the planning application process under way.

“This is the first big step in trying to get the waterfront area remodelled and redeveloped.

“We want to bring the waterfront up to date, make it more attractive as a place to visit, and make it more useful to people travelling around the area.

“Of course, we need to see whether approval will be given, but this is exciting progress.”

The proposed new interchange would have a more efficient layout, including a modern shelter with real-time bus information displays. The taxi rank and the pick-up/drop-off would move to the current bus station site, fronting South Street, and the short-stay parking would move to The Esplanade.

As part of the wider scheme, there would also be a link across the High Street between North and South Cross Street, bringing buses into the main shopping area.

The scheme would be carefully designed to enhance the setting of the Falkland Gardens and maintain the views of the gardens and the wider waterfront area.

The project is being led by Hampshire County Council, using £5.2m of government funding, with a contribution from Gosport Borough Council.

Residents can comment on the planning application until 11 March. They can go to Hampshire’s planning application portal and search for application HCC/2022/0041

Source: Gosport Borough Council