Our area’s military history is not only one of the cornerstones of our local identity, it drives visitors to our area and plays a big part in sustaining our local economy.

Gosport’s forts are no different - in the past they both protected our nation and were bustling hubs of employment. Nowadays these buildings offer the potential for a reimagined future which could drive jobs and prosperity.

I spoke at a Fortifications at Risk conference last week, to highlight the risks of letting these opportunities slip through our fingers as these forts slowly degrade.

It is a long time since the risk of a French attack warranted the construction of a series of Palmerston Forts to defend it. And with the changing needs of the Ministry of Defence, the biggest policy paper of recent years, A Better Defence Estate, in 2016 unveiled a long term plan to reduce the size of the entire Defence Estate by 30%.

Caroline with David Clarke and Dr Celia Clark at Fort Brockhurst

placeholder image — Caroline with David Clarke and Dr Celia Clark at Fort Brockhurst

Gosport’s fortifications are no strangers to changing requirements, but what had become clear was that this area’s economic model was going to have to change. We could no longer rely on the defence industrial base and had to look at alternative routes to self-sufficiency.

Since I became an MP I have been clear that Gosport’s future has to make the best possible use of the potential of our old military sites.

Those transformations are already taking place. The regeneration of Haslar and Fort Gilkicker are underway. A promising new future has been suggested for Fort Brockhurst, inspired by the success of Hotwalls Studios across the water in the old seaward defences of Old Portsmouth.

This enterprise has demonstrated that being innovative, and taking a new approach to the unused parts of the defence estate, can reap economic rewards and sow social goods.

In Parliament, I am championing this approach through the Select Committee that I Chair, the Culture, Media, and Sport Committee.

In December we launched the Protecting Built Heritage inquiry, with a view to investigating how the Government can change the narrative of the managed decline of assets on publicly-owned land.

Nowhere is this more relevant than Gosport, where around 20% of the Borough is still owned by the Ministry of Defence.

Fort Blockhouse is an example of an asset with high potential for creative redevelopment. Earmarked for disposal in 2024, it is being left to rot at taxpayers expense.

This week in the House of Commons I secured a meeting with Defence Ministers to discuss Fort Blockhouse, and to seek the right solution for taxpayers and the local area.

That solution is not the ugly plan that Reform and Labour have dreamed up - to use disused military sites like Blockhouse for asylum accommodation.

Gosport's forts were built to defend and secure the area's prosperity. Today, with proper investment, partnerships, and vision, they can be reimagined as engines of economic growth for our community.