Following Southampton City Council’s decision last week to grant full planning permission for the relocation of Red Funnel’s Southampton terminals to Trafalgar Dry Dock in the Western Docks, Red Funnel has released further details of the scheme.
The project forms part of the plan to redevelop the Royal Pier Waterfront by RPW (Southampton) Limited which will create luxury apartments, professional office space, food and retail outlets, public and private parking, two hotels as well as redevelopment and improvement of Mayflower Park, the site of the world-renowned Southampton Boat Show.
Red Funnel’s relocation to Trafalgar Dock at the end of 2017 is one of the transformative strategic projects being supported by the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP). £15 million of central government funding is being secured through the Solent Growth Deal to pay for the public realm infrastructure required for Red Funnel’s new terminal facilities in Southampton and a similar scheme being considered by planners in East Cowes.
Benefits
The significant benefits which will be realised through this investment are:
• Journey times between Southampton and the Isle of Wight will be reduced
• Existing capacity constraints will be removed for embarking and disembarking traffic
• State of the art facilities for ferry customers
Red Funnel will move its existing Southampton terminals (1 and 2) and its head office in Bugle Street into a brand new purpose built building which will be built on the site of the old Trafalgar Dry Dock pump house. The listed pump machinery sited below the surface will be preserved and made viewable via glass panels in the floor of the building. The new terminal will include a cafe restaurant with an outside seating area with unrivalled views of passing ships, toilets, and visitor information and exhibition space charting Red Funnel’s history from 1820.
The new facility includes new operational and maintenance berths for Red Funnel’s ro-pax and Red Jet ferry fleet, passenger walkways and low and high-level linkspans for boarding vehicles. Traffic will enter and leave the new terminal via Dock Gate 5 on Platform Road. The new facility will be much larger with more check-in booths and longer lanes for waiting traffic. The vehicle lanes will all be undercover and protected from the elements in what promises to be a spacious, safe and well lit area. The new terminal promises faster loading and disembarkation and includes more storage space for HGV’s.
Foot passengers will gain access to the new terminal via a new pedestrian walkway and cycleway which will give the public access to a new stretch of waterfront in the City for the first time. The plans incorporate improved cycle and vehicle parking, a taxi rank and a vehicle drop-off area. Improvements to bus connectivity include a FREE service linking the new terminal with the city centre and the rail and coach stations.
Phase 2
Under phase 2 of the Solent Gateways plan, Red Funnel has recently submitted a planning application for a new terminal and marshalling area in East Cowes on the Isle of Wight. The scheme, which is due to go before planners in April 2016 promises to help grow visitor numbers and improve the economic prosperity of Islanders through improved connectivity with the prosperous South East.
Kevin George, Red Funnel’s CEO said “We’re delighted that the plans for Southampton have been approved. This is a major step for Red Funnel in terms of delivering the first part of the Solent Gateways scheme alongside the proposals for East Cowes, which are also being progressed. It will enhance the customer experience and benefit the economies of Southampton and the Isle of Wight”.
Red Funnel is due to move into its new Southampton home during winter 2017/18 to allow RPW (Southampton) to start work redeveloping the Royal Pier waterfront.
Follow us on Twitter