Welcome Break’s plans for a new motorway service area (MSA) at junction 11 of the M27 are being delayed following intervention by National Highways.
National Highways has asked Fareham Borough Council to delay its decision on whether to grant Welcome Break planning permission until February 13, 2026, to give it time to “review further information and to provide the Local Planning Authority with fully informed advice”.
National Highways says it is concerned with proposals that may have the potential to impact the safe and efficient operation of the SRN (strategic road network), in this case the M27 motorway.
Its letter to the Council says: “The nearest junction to the proposal site is M27 J11, located immediately southwest of the site, which experiences regular congestion on both off-slips during the network peak hours. Therefore, any development must carefully assess the number of trips being added and whether there is sufficient capacity.
“We have been liaising with the Applicant’s transport consultants since pre-application stage regarding the expected impact of the proposed development and the traffic modelling. Baseline traffic modelling files were provided to us on 17/10/2025, and we issued our comments on 05/11/2025. National Highways will be contacting the Applicant’s transport consultants to arrange a meeting to progress our review of their baseline modelling at M27 J11. We continue to liaise with the Applicant and working collaboratively with the Applicant and Hampshire County Council (HCC) as Highway Authority.”
The intervention follows a report that said the new Fareham Services could add more than £15m in GVA (gross value added) to the area.
The Services would comprise a main amenity building, petrol station, drive-thru coffee shop and parking with EV charging.
