Decision date on plans for controversial major road project in Southampton finally set
The plan to close part of Portswood Broadway to cars would lead to around 12,000 journeys a day being diverted
Last updated 8th Dec 2023
A decision on the controversial Portswood Broadway scheme is set to be made in January – and just in time for Southampton City Council to not lose its £3m government funding.
On January 16th (2024), the city council’s cabinet will, after three years of drama and deliberation, either sign off and begin the project – or decide to scrap it once and for all.
The plan is to close Portswood Broadway between Westbride Road and Highfield Lane to cars, creating a ‘greener’ and ‘more vibrant’ district centre.
It will use more than £3m of funding which was given to the council by the Department for Transport, but would have to be given back by March (2024) if not used or reallocated.
The plans have been met with strong opposition over the last few years, as pedestrianising the section of road will lead to an estimated 12,000 car journeys being diverted – every single day.
A ‘Say NO to Southampton City Council’s proposal to close part of Portswood Broadway to through traffic’ petition garnered 2,868 signatures – making it the only e-petition of the year (2022/2023) to make it to council.
The months that followed the March (2023) council debate saw protests, deputations – and even a Portswood-based disability charity warning the closure’s diversion would turn their already-derelict road into a ‘rat race’.
Throughout the project’s history, several parties have expressed their views; the Greens said the scheme was ‘likely to fail’ and the Tories said they would ‘scrap it immediately’, if they were to regain control of the council.
It hasn’t all been objections, however. A counter-petition called ‘Say YES to Portswood Road Improvement Plans’ achieved 279 signatures – and several members of the public have come out in support of the district centre plans.
In February (2023), Councillor Eamonn Keogh, cabinet member for transport, told the council’s overview and scrutiny management committee: “One of the reasons we were able to secure that funding was because of step change.
“‘Step change’ is the name given for what the Department for Transport (DfT) wants to see concerning transport and is heavily centred around improving ‘active travel’ – walking, cycling and taking the bus.
“The difficulty that we do have is that if we don’t have that bus priority in Portswood Broadway, there is a risk we would have to give that money back to the DfT.
“(The) scheme was being driven by principles that were being set out by the DfT.
“This is the difficulty we face ourselves. We want to improve our transport network and we can’t do that as a city on our own. We need that funding.”
Cllr Keogh also warned of an £18m loss from other projects that would be negatively affected if the Portswood Broadway plans didn’t come to fruition.
Despite the clear urgency to begin the project – it was delayed because of complaints about the quality of the second (October 2022) consultation – which was said by objectors to be ‘loaded’.
But now the third consultation (October 2023) has been completed and with the DfT’s deadline coming up to spend the money, reallocate it or give it back – Southampton is finally about to see the outcome of the three-year-long drama.