Associated British Ports (ABP) has launched an informal consultation about emerging plans to develop port facilities at Dibden Bay.
The ‘Solent Gateway 2’ proposals for an automotive terminal relate to the northern area of Dibden Bay between Marchwood and Hythe just outside the New Forest National Park boundary. A country park, nature reserve and new access road is also included in the consultation, the footprint of which appears to include land within the New Forest National Park
While this is an informal consultation, a formal consultation will take place next year and the final decision will be made by the Secretary of State. The National Park Authority will be a statutory consultee.
New Forest National Park Authority Chair David Bence said: ‘The New Forest National Park is internationally important for nature, and benefits from the highest status of protection in relation to landscape and scenic beauty.
‘Development of Dibden Bay on its boundary has been identified in ABP’s draft Port Masterplan and we’ve been aware that a proposal is likely to come forward. In accordance with the strengthened legal duty placed on relevant bodies to seek to further the statutory National Park purposes, we would expect ABP to maximise opportunities for the National Park and the benefits for nature and our communities. We will be carefully considering the details of the proposal before formulating our response.
‘Given the scale of the proposals published this week, the decision on this important area will be made by the Government following an independent examination. It’s really important that people put forward their views. We would encourage people to attend the in-person or online sessions being run by ABP and submit their comments to the consultation.’
The deadline for comments is 13 October.
Further information is at Solentgateway2.co.uk.
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Main image: Artistic impression of Solent Gateway 2. This is indicative and based on emerging proposals.