Residents are being asked for their views on plans to expand the Port of Southampton to add a new terminal for vehicles.

Associated British Ports (ABP) wants to create Solent Gateway 2, an automotive terminal on reclaimed land between Marchwood and Hythe on the opposite side of the River Test to the Port of Southampton.

The plans include a new road from the for port traffic to avoid Marchwood, a new jetty and the creation of a new country park – all on land previously part of the port’s plans for the Dibden Bay development.

A non-statutory consultation on the proposals – including a number of in-person events and webinars – runs until 13 October before a formal public consultation in 2026.

ABP said the proposed new terminal was needed because the existing port was nearing capacity.

It said if the new terminal went ahead the rest of the port would continue to operate in largely the same way as it does now.

Once Solent Gateway 2 is fully operational ABP said it expected “several hundred new jobs” would be created.

The New Forest Association said: “Given the history of this sensitive coastline we are deeply concerned about the publication of these present proposals and their potentially adverse impact on the Dibden Bay SSSI and the New Forest National Park.

“Our experts are studying the proposals in detail and will be contributing fully to the consultation.”
The plans are expected to go out to statutory consultation in 2026 with an application for a Development Consent Order submitted to the Planning Inspectorate in 2027.
An application by ABP to build new facilities on a 800-hectare site at Dibden Bay was rejected by a planning inspector in 2004 after a lengthy public inquiry.

The original Dibden Bay plans would haved doubled the size of the existing docks by using reclaimed land on the New Forest side of Southampton Water.

Campaigners argued that it would haved destroyed grazing marsh and mudflats which provides winter homes for 50,000 birds.
Source: BBC