The city council has raised concerns about the potential environmental impacts of the major proposed revamp of the M3 Junction 9.

National Highways estimates that the cost of the whole scheme will be in the region of £190million to £210million.

Cllr Malcolm Wallace, Winchester City Council Green Party member, asked what the authority's current position was, at the full council meeting on Wednesday September 20. 

He said: “In December 2022, National Highways formally submitted their application on M3 Junction 9, which fails to show how the project will help to get to net zero. Rather, the documentation highlights that if the proposal is approved then it will result in more traffic past Winchester, in particular as more HGVs use this route to travel north.

READ MORE: M3 Junction 9 Winchester: South Downs National Park objections

“In light of this new information, please can Winchester Council confirm their position regarding the proposed M3 Junction 9 development?”

Cllr Wallace highlighted that the South Downs National Park Authority submitted an objection. 

Cllr Jackie Porter, cabinet member for place and local plan, said: “The council has responded on a number of matters and National Highways have addressed these by making amendments to their submission.

“The council's current position is that the proposals are in conflict with our climate change policies and the aims of the Carbon Neutrality Action Plan.

“On August 8, our officers took part in a dedicated hearing (as part of the examination). At the hearing, they outlined the issues and our concerns, setting these against our local policies and national legislation. The city council requested a formal mitigation plan for construction and operational emissions.

“Following the hearing, the applicant has engaged with the city council to discuss their submission and mitigation methods. We outlined in our original Statement of Common Ground that mitigation for the additional carbon and greenhouse gases is not satisfactory.

“We sought a hearing during the examination to present our case and challenge National Highways further on this point. At a subsequent meeting with National Highways on this topic disappointingly, the outcome was 'no change'.

“Our position remains that there could be more mitigation: a proposal which they have rejected to date and therefore this remains a point of disagreement on the statement of common ground.”

For further information about the M3 Junction 9 project, visit infrastructure.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/projects/south-east/m3-junction-9-improvement/.