The M3 Junction 9 Improvement application has been granted development consent by the Secretary of State for Transport.

The project proposes the upgrade to the junction to allow free movement from the A34 to the M3.  

The application was submitted to the Planning Inspectorate for consideration by National Highways on 21 November 2022 and accepted for Examination on 15 December 2022.  

Following an Examination during which the public, Statutory Consultees and Interested Parties were given the opportunity to give evidence to the Examining Authority, recommendations were made to the Secretary of State on 16 February 2024.   

This is the 51st transport application out of 137 applications examined to date and was again completed by the Planning Inspectorate within the statutory timescale laid down in the Planning Act 2008.   

Local communities continue to be given the opportunity of being involved in the examination of projects that may affect them. Local people, the local authority and other Interested Parties were able to participate in this six-month Examination.   

The Examining Authority listened and gave full consideration to all local views and the evidence gathered during the Examination before making its recommendation to the Secretary of State.  

The decision, the recommendation made by the Examining Authority to the Secretary of State for Transport and the evidence considered by the Examining Authority in reaching its recommendation are publicly available on the project pages of the National Infrastructure Planning website.