A FORMER naval base will be turned into a business hub in a huge boost for Hampshire’s regeneration.

Bosses say 45 businesses and 650 jobs will be brought to the former HMS Daedalus airfield site after it was granted approval to become an enterprise zone.

The lucrative status means tax breaks totalling £2.7m for businesses based there, relaxed planning laws and high-speed broadband.

Hampshire MPs have long been campaigning for an enterprise zone at the site, with the county having been snubbed by the initial round of accepted bids.

And today the Solent bid has finally named as one of 11 successful bids across the country.

Prime Minister David Cameron said: “These new enterprise zones will be trailblazers for growth, jobs and prosperity throughout the country.”

Bosses behind the Solent bid said it would focus on the automotive, aerospace, transport, defence and manufacturing sectors on the 82-hectare site.

They say that by April 2015, between 38 and 45 businesses and 650 jobs will have been created.

Doug Morrison, chairman of the Solent Local Enterprise Partnership, said: “We want to target the marine and aviation sectors as ones in which Solent has proven strengths, grow existing businesses, promote new technologies and support enterprise.

"Our aspiration is to create 10,000 additional jobs by 2026 of which a third could be at Daedalus.

"We are confident that, with the benefit of the favourable environment offered by the enterprise zone and the focus that my board will bring to this proposal, we can transform Daedalus into a major growth hub for manufacturing and innovation and a key location for marine and aerospace companies in the Solent area and in the national economy.”

Earlier this year Hampshire MPs, including Gosport's Caroline Dinenage, used a Parliamentary debate to make the case for the Solent bid, arguing the region suffered because of the perception that the south east was a wealthy area.

Initially, the site was one of 29 places across the country all in the running to become one of the chosen enterprise zone spots. Also on the list was the Enterprise M3 project, which includes Basingstoke.

The south east was snubbed in the first round of bidding, which was announced earlier this year. Commuities secretary Eric Pickles also warned that the bid would face tough competition and said “only the best would get the go ahead”.

Supporters of the plans argued there was less than half a job locally for each Gosport resident, causing traffic chaos as residents commute to find work.