ONLY a third of the budget for allocated for development in the Solent area was spent last year, it has been revealed.

The Solent Local Enterprise Partnership was expected to spend more than £32m, however a report has shown it only used £10.7m for the 2017-2018 financial year.

But the group confirmed that approximately £20m will still be used in the future, with around £3m still unallocated.

Head of capital and infrastructure at Solent LEP, Steve Futter, said: ‘It is important to note that of the £32.7m budgeted, over 90 per cent of this has been approved by the LEP board and allocated to projects which are either already underway or very close to breaking ground in the coming months.’

Schemes which will use the remaining funds in the future include new carriageway alignment on Newgate Lane South between Gosport and Fareham, a civil engineering training centre at Fareham College and a school of maritime science and engineering at Southampton Solent University.

Mr Fuller said: “To date, Solent Local Enterprise Partnership have funded projects totalling £85m in respect of the local growth deal funding which it has been awarded by central government.”

“This figure is understood to be one of the strongest delivery performances of all 38 LEPs.”