Solent Gateway announced planning consent has been granted for the development of Marchwood Port in Southampton, Hampshire.

The development of the port approved by New Forest District Council, subject to a section 106 agreement, will modernise its operations and facilities, create new jobs and bring investment to the area, whilst providing improved capability and support to the Ministry of Defence.

As part of the planning application submitted in summer 2021, the following – which are all within the existing footprint of the port – are included in the approved plans:

• creation of additional hard standing
• improved site access with enhanced security facilities
• new warehousing
• welfare facilities
• new cycle and walking connections

The improvements will allow a wide range of cargoes and commodities to be transported through the port using its RORO and LOLO facilities and stored onsite. It will deliver a biodiversity net gain of over ten percent with on and off-site enhancements. The port is also a tax site and customs site as part of the successful Solent Freeport bid and offers outstanding sea, rail and road connectivity.

Solent Gateway Ltd’s Port Director, Richard Parkinson, said: “We’re delighted with the decision from New Forest District Council to give the green light to our application. Many months of hard work and wide stakeholder consultation went into the application and we’re excited for the opportunities this will bring to the region.

“Our future plans together with the freeport tax and custom site status, puts Solent Gateway at the forefront of being able to benefit businesses for the long or short term. We have excellent import/export capabilities with supporting storage space and have space to accommodate new businesses that want to develop their own facilities inside a tax and customs site for import, manufacturing, assembly, storage, export or delivery into the UK.”