It is not impossible that, instead of the marina that Port Solent is today, Portsmouth football club could be enjoying a state of the art stadium here. Just one of the proposals back in the 1970s for the piece of scrubby foreshore ground known then as Paulsgrove Lake.
Portsmouth City Council however, whose land it was, were impressed by an imaginative scheme presented to them by the original developer, Arlington Securities and their architect Hedley Greentree, for a marina combining not only boats but housing, apartments and recreational facilities. Work began in 1986 and was finally opened officially by the Princess Royal in 1988 it was at that time the largest development of its kind in Europe.
Higgs & Hill Homes were responsible for developing the first stage of the housing to the north of the marina and swiftly completed about 100 homes. The recession of the early 1990s slowed progress but by 2000 the housing areas were complete, some by Crest Homes, and the apartments adjacent to the lock were under construction. Meanwhile the Boardwalk, with its shops and restaurants, expanded to include a multiplex cinema and a leisure centre.
Today Port Solent continues to be a vibrant marina complex and certainly lives up to the concept first advertised in 1988 – Port Solent, a lifestyle inspired by a dream to create a unique waterside haven, combining the charm and excitement of a Mediterranean port with the facilities of a major town.