Browndown: Gosport former military training camp will see 67-bed care home and 57 new houses built
The site will be cleared to make way for a redevelopment
A major redevelopment of a former training camp has been approved, paving the way for dozens of new homes and a 68-bed care home.
Gosport Borough Council’s regulatory board backed the plans to transform the old Browndown Training Camp in Lee-on-the-Solent.
The scheme from Highwood Group, first submitted in March 2025, will see the site cleared and transformed so 57 new homes, a care home, and commercial and community facilities can be built.
Speaking at the meeting on Wednesday night, managing director Phil Prosser told councillors that the need for this development “is clear”.
He said that Gosport’s elderly population is growing and is expected to increase by 67 per cent in the next two decades, but the existing provision is “not keeping pace”.
Mr Prosser said: “Crucially, this is not a stand-alone care proposal; the adjoining homes, including affordable housing, means the application also responds to wider housing need. This is a deliverable scheme. There is clear local need for care accommodation and housing.”
The 57 new houses on the 3.76-hectare brownfield site - just over the size of five football pitches - will be a mixture of two and three-bedroom homes, while the 68-bed care home will be three storeys high.
According to the plans, the care home is designed to provide “comprehensive, full-time support”.
The new buildings in the development would all be two-storey except for the care home. New areas of public open space will also be created, with approximately 160 new trees set to be planted.
The main access to the site would be via an upgraded junction on Privett Road.
This would include a Copenhagen-style crossing, keeping the pavement and cycle path level and continuous across the entrance, giving priority to pedestrians and cyclists.
Cllr Kirsten Bradley, Independent for Lee East, said: “There are a lot of buildings on the site already, in very bad disrepair. I am looking forward to seeing whatever happens on that ground to start making it look more modern.”
However, despite keen praise for the development, Cllr Alan Scard raised a concern.
The Conservative for Anglesey said: “You are building a care home and houses right next to a military training centre. I think it is a commercial decision, and if you want to take that, that is your decision.”
The plans were unanimously approved.