A £19.5m fund has been secured to help kick-start the regeneration of a Hampshire city.

The money will be used to kick-start the redevelopment of the Tipner area of Portsmouth.

Norman Baker, the local transport minister approved the funding today and it will be used to build a new motorway junction with the M275 and a park-and-ride scheme.

 As well as improving access to the regeneration site at Tipner, the scheme will relieve traffic and congestion on local residential roads around the site.

Mr Baker said: “This important scheme will encourage regeneration of the Tipner site by opening up access to the area for businesses and visitors.

"The new junction on the M275 and the new park and ride scheme will be a huge boost for the area - helping to deliver new homes and new jobs as well as reducing congestion and encouraging visitors to the city. Having visited Portsmouth to see for myself, I am in no doubt that this is a good scheme and a sensible use of taxpayers money.

"The £19.5 million we are putting into this scheme shows that the Coalition Government is serious about investing in the infrastructure the country needs to drive economic growth."

The Tipner scheme was one of the schemes given funding approval last year as part of the Spending Review process. Work can now start on the construction with the project scheduled to complete in April 2014.