More than £7m of Government investment is set to anchor growth and unlock development potential in the Gosport Waterfront area of the Solent Enterprise Zone.

Following a successful bid by the Solent Local Enterprise Partnership, the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has announced a grant of £7.09m for essential public investment in infrastructure to upgrade the waterfront road within the Enterprise Zone and develop brownfield sites in the area for commercial, leisure and residential development.

The funding will be used to:

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• Upgrade the main access road serving the southern third of the Enterprise Zone at Lee known as the Gosport Waterfront

• Unlock the development potential of 15,000 sq m of land across three sites in the area through the provision of utilities and services

• Provide spur road access into the development sites.

Gary Jeffries, Chairman of the Solent Enterprise Partnership, said: "This is excellent news for the Solent Enterprise Zone and the wider area. Significant construction work is already underway on the Solent Enterprise Zone and this enables us to start work on a new area - the Gosport Waterfront.

"The grant from DCLG will unlock this area's considerable potential by enabling us to invest public money in critical infrastructure and make early progress in creating new commercial development, providing new local jobs.

"In the slightly longer term we will be seeking investment in a comprehensive redevelopment that presents an exciting opportunity for private sector investment in new businesses, leisure and in new homes."

(CD/JP)