Gosport: Historic area of former navy yard goes to market

A large area of Gosport’s historic Royal Clarence Yard has gone on the market for potential use as a major new employment hub for the marine industry.

The 5.7-acre site at the Osborne Road site has been released by the Defence Infrastructure Organisation and is marketed by commercial property specialists Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH) as the sole agent.

The site has full deep water access to Portsmouth Harbour and so is particularly suited to marine activity.

Guy Jackson, associate director – Industrial at LSH’s South Coast offices, said: “This rare opportunity forms the next chapter in the story of Royal Clarence Yard which has, over the last 10 years, transformed from its original use as a Royal Naval victualling yard into a successful mix of residential, light industry, office and leisure uses.

“The prestigious, historic nature of the site and access to the harbour make Royal Clarence Yard very attractive for marine use, and the sale will bring huge employment and economic benefits to Gosport while preserving its historic status and underlining the area’s rich marine heritage.

“We are very excited about the potential for this scheme and are expecting very high levels of interest in the site.”

The area for sale includes a number of listed structures including former tank stores, a steam fire engine house, the New South Store, part of the south range of the Cooperage and the southern boundary wall. The site is within the Royal Clarence Yard Conservation Area.

Developers interested in submitting proposals for site are required to maximise marine employment opportunities and to retain, renovate and protect the listed buildings.

Royal Clarence Yard includes the remains of a railway station once used by Queen Victoria, whose Royal yacht would be berthed on the Gosport side of Portsmouth Harbour, to take her from Gosport over to Osborne House on the Isle of Wight. There is potential to relocate this and re-use it as a reception or café/restaurant.

Lambert Smith Hampton, which has offices in Fareham and Southampton, is a multi-award-winning commercial property specialist and has the largest transactional team in the Solent region, with 13 specialists working in the industrial property, office space, retail, leisure and investment markets.