Hampshire County Council has emphasised its support for the Welborne development near Fareham but clarified it could not take on the role of Delivery Body for the improvement scheme at Junction 10 of the M27 at this time, given the current level of risk carried by that role.
Councillor Rob Humby, Deputy Leader and Executive Member for Economy, Transport and Environment at Hampshire County Council, said: “The Welborne Garden Village development is important to our area, providing much needed homes, commercial floorspace and jobs; for these reasons we have consistently supported the highways improvement scheme needed for the additional traffic which would be generated.
“Since the County Council was asked to act as the Scheme Promoter by the Government, we have made excellent progress on the development and design of Junction 10 of the M27.
“We have been clear from the start that our involvement can only be on the understanding that there is no financial risk to Hampshire County Council and therefore council taxpayers across the county.
“We remain willing to continue to support developing the scheme, subject to full financial reimbursement. As a responsible organisation, we are not in a position to consider taking on delivery of the scheme while all financial risks are not fully underwritten by other parties. We are committed to further discussion to overcome these difficulties.”