Steve Forster - Cllr, Hampshire Highways & Transport

21/10/2026

Waterlooville Centre regeneration approved.

Some good press coverage following my approval of this £1.8m transformative scheme, funded by Havant BC. I look forward to the work starting in February.

https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/politics/ps18m-revamp-of-waterlooville-town-centre-approved-9300368

For detail on the decision seehttps://democracy.hants.gov.uk/documents/s152462/Decision%20Record.pdf and
https://democracy.hants.gov.uk/documents/s151992/PA%20-%20Waterlooville%20Town%20Centre%20Public%20Realm%20Improvements.pdf

The town centre is to be given a welcoming new look

20/10/2026

A reminder for this coming weekend.

🚧 M3 Junction 8 to 9 Weekend Closure 🚧

📅 Friday 23 October 9pm to Monday 26 October 6am

➡️ We need to fully close the M3 J8 to J9 in both directions this weekend to safely remove the northern section of the old roundabout bridge and supporting structures. The old bridge is no longer required now that traffic is using the new junction layout.

Signed diversion routes will be in place throughout the closure.

✅ Follow the signed diversion routes
✅ Allow extra time for your journey
⚠️ Some local roads may be busier than usual while diversions are in place
🚧 Demolition work will continue day and night to help reduce the overall duration of disruption

🔗 https://nationalhighways.co.uk/roads-and-travel/road-projects/south-east/m3-junction-9-improvements/

18/10/2026

Courses worth booking - helping keep your children safe.

Is your child ready to ride safely and confidently on two wheels? 🚲

There are still spaces available on our Bikeability courses this October half term. Led by qualified instructors, the sessions help young people develop essential cycling skills both on and off the road.

Courses are currently available at:

📍 Weeke Primary School, Wi******er: 27-28 October
📍St Peter’s Catholic Primary School, Waterlooville: 30 October
📍Ballard School, New Milton: 26-27 October

To view and book available courses, visit the link in comments. Please note there is a cost to take part.

15/10/2026

The autumn work has already started.

14/10/2026

M3 Wi******er closures by National Highways, removing old bridges to enable widening the motorway.

📣Major milestone on M3 junction 9 improvements

We’re demolishing two old bridges above the M3 at junction 9 near Wi******er.

🚧To do this safely we need two weekend closures of the M3 in both directions between junctions 8 and 9.

These will take place from:
📅9pm on Friday 23 October to 6am on Monday 26 October
📅9pm on Friday 6 November to 6am on Monday 9 November

Closing the motorway provides a safe working environment for specialist demolition teams and road users while the structures are removed.

🗺️Please plan ahead, allow extra time for your journey and familiarise yourself with the diversion in advance at https://ow.ly/4Y9e50ZVJLa

14/10/2026

Have you wondered how this work is done?

12/10/2026

A quiet week online last week as I was on holiday.

If you’re intrigued, it was a couple of thousand miles on one of my motorcycles around (mostly) France.

The trip included a visit to Natzweiler-Struthof, which was deeply moving, and a reminder of why we must never forget.

Now back at my desk and catching up on the emails I didn’t manage to get round to answering while on the trip.

12/10/2026

Great to see the new slip roads open at M27 Junction 10, with this Hampshire County Council major highways scheme delivered ahead of time and within budget.

It should improve travel along the M27, providing better access to this part of the Fareham area.

Thank you to the council officers, National Highways, our contractors and everyone involved and to Greatest Hits Radio South Coast for the coverage.

01/10/2026

A well as our bus investments, nice to see this additional news.

Thanks for the coverage Hampshire Live

Bus passengers across Hampshire are set to benefit from new shelters, live departure screens and CCTV after nearly £1 million of improvements.

The money will be spent on new real-time passenger information screens, replacement shelters and seating, improved signs, refreshed road markings, better lighting and CCTV.

The £950,000 programme will fund upgrades at bus stations, transport hubs and railway stations across the county after council officers said some facilities had “not seen much investment over recent years”.

In a report, Hampshire County Council officers said a number of bus stations and transport hubs do not provide “a welcoming or attractive waiting environment” for passengers.

The report describes bus stations and transport hubs as the public transport “shop window” in town centres and other busy locations.

It said: “These waiting environments are in visible high footfall areas in town centres or other busy locations and are part of the ‘shop window’ of travelling by bus and need to be invested in and to look appealing.”

Havant is among the biggest beneficiaries.

Plans include new passenger information screens, upgraded shelters, CCTV, improved lighting and wayfinding signs to help people move between the town centre and public transport links.

Wi******er and Eastleigh bus stations are also set to receive new real-time departure screens.

Improvements are also planned at bus facilities in Andover, Basingstoke, Fareham, Gosport and Romsey.

Other locations due to benefit include transport hubs in Aldershot, Alton, Farnborough, Hythe, Lymington, Ringwood, Totton and Waterlooville.

The council has approved £600,000 for improvements at bus stations and bus hubs, with a further £350,000 earmarked for projects designed to make it easier to switch between buses and trains.

That work will include better passenger information, improved signs between railway stations and nearby bus stops, and upgrades to waiting areas.

Stations set to benefit include Wi******er, Havant, Fareham, Brockenhurst, New Milton, Chandler’s Ford, Portchester and Basingstoke.

The report argues that improving waiting areas is just as important as improving bus services themselves.

Officers also warned that failing to invest in passenger facilities could make bus travel less attractive and encourage more people to travel by car.

The funding comes from the government’s local authority bus grant programme, through which Hampshire has been allocated more than £27 million in capital funding between 2026/27 and 2029/30.

The latest investment forms part of the county council’s wider ambition to increase bus use, aiming to double annual passenger journeys from 21 million in 2023/24 to 42 million by 2034/35.

✍Original copy by Natalia Forero, Local Democracy Reporter

30/09/2026

Positive progress on highways maintenance - although funding from government remains insufficient to deliver all that we’d like.