Council plans to invest £5million in Portsmouth roads
Councillors are expected to put forward an additional £5million of investment for Portsmouth’s roads, as part of the city council’s capital budget.
The bulk of the money will likely be earmarked for improvements to the city centre road scheme, with a new layout to improve the flow of traffic in and out of Portsmouth, maximising the city’s development potential.
The new funding for the project, which would see improvements from the M275 to Unicorn Gate, would sit alongside £12million of capital funding allocated by the council in previous capital budgets, giving a total of around £15million for the city centre road scheme.
This should put the council in a position to progress the scheme by securing additional funding through bids to organisations like the central government or the Solent Local Enterprise Partnership.
Other transport schemes expected to be included are improvements to the eastern corridor road network, sustainable transport projects, and strategic transport planning.
Councillor Donna Jones, Leader of Portsmouth City Council, said: “Revamping the M275 entrance to Portsmouth with a new city centre road has to be a big priority for the council and I hope my colleagues will back giving additional funding to this scheme when it is put in front of them.
“I’m delighted that money from the prudent management of our debt obligations has allowed us to put funds towards this project.”
Councillor Jim Fleming, the council’s Cabinet Member for Traffic and Transportation, said: “The project is likely to cost upwards of £40million in total but having £15million already allocated will be a big boost to our chances of securing additional funding from other agencies.
“In the meantime, we will be looking at improving traffic flows through to the Eastern Road to make sure it is keeping traffic moving as well as possible and also improving access at junctions and making roads safer for vehicles, cyclists, and pedestrians.”
The transport schemes will be considered as part of Portsmouth City Council’s capital budget, which invests in a range of infrastructure schemes throughout the city, such as buildings and facilities, rather than the day-to-day running of council services that have to be paid through a separate revenue budget.
In total, Portsmouth City Council will consider proposals for more than £20million of council funding which could attract further funding and bring in over £150million of capital investment to the city.
The council’s cabinet will review the capital budget proposals as a meeting on February 9th, before they go to the full council meeting on February 14th, for all councillors to consider.