Merry Christmas to all our residents🎄                              12 December 2025

Festive fun in the high street

Christmas has arrived in Gosport and our free festive Saturday entertainment continues on 13 and 20 December in the high street and Lawrence Square. Saturday 13 December - 10am-3pm Songs from Gosport Scouts (11am), the Big Noise Samba Band (12pm), Christmas Puddings (12, 1, 2pm), Churches Together Choir carols (1pm), plus The Grinch will be prowling from 12.30pm. Saturday 20 December - 10am-3pm The popular Snow Globe is back 11am-3pm for photos, plus juggling and bubbles (12, 1, 2pm), Rocks n' Groynes (11.30am), Giant Bouncing Snowmen (11.30am, 12.30pm, 1.30pm), and Churches Together Choir (1pm) The Craft Bus will be on throughout both events, along with a life-sized unicorn! Santa in the park Sunday 21 December Leesland Park, Whitworth Close, PO12 3PF 1pm – 3pm For children of any age, free entry and free gift Shop local and support your community Gosport’s High Street and Stoke Road are buzzing with life as more than 33 new independent businesses have opened in the past year. From beauty and fashion boutiques to craft studios and eateries, these shops bring unique character and choice to the town. Shopping local isn’t just convenient, it strengthens our community. Every pound spent with an independent business helps support local jobs, keeps money circulating in Gosport, and nurtures a vibrant, distinctive high street.  Don’t miss the markets every Tuesday (8am–3pm) and Saturday (8am–4pm), another great way to shop local and support Gosport’s revival.

Free Christmas tree collections and festive collection changes

We are again offering to collect your real Christmas tree after the festivities, from Monday 12 January - Friday 23 January 2026. Please leave trees at the
front of your property and clearly visible during this period.

The below table shows the changes to some black bin and recycling collections in December and January, collections will be two days later for some areas.

Please note the M27 closure may affect some collections due to congestion, please leave bins out if they are not emptied as expected.

Avoid these Christmas scams 🎄

It might be the holiday season, but scammers never take a break when it comes to defrauding you. Some scams to be aware of this Christmas:

• Fake delivery scams: Text or email about a 'delayed' package, asking you to click a link to track it - taking you to a fake site.
• Online shopping and social media scams: Fake websites and social media adverts selling unrealistically low priced products, to steal your payment information.
• Gift card scams: Fraudsters impersonate a friend, family member, or even a boss, and ask you to buy a gift card for them as a favour.
• Phishing and malware: You may receive fake e-cards, emails from fake charities, or alerts about a compromised account.
• Fake charities (often with similar names to real charities) and refund scams claiming you are owed a tax or refund.

The link in these scams often takes you to fake sites where your information is stolen.

The golden rule is to NEVER click on a link from an unsolicited email or text message.

Have your say on big council reorganisation proposals

In all of the new local government reorganisation options being proposed, Gosport would join Portsmouth, Fareham and Havant as one new, single council for around 500,000 residents. The options people can comment are for the current 15 councils to be merged into either five new councils, or four new councils for the Hampshire and the Isle of Wight region. These changes would happen from 2028.

Business award winners

Montserrat Events CIC was named overall business of the year at the 2025 Gosport Business Awards. Seven local businesses were winners on the night, pictured celebrating, at the ceremony held at St Vincent College. Read about the awards night. Time to vote for the Best Small Independent Business 2026 Voting is open, help celebrate the independent businesses that make our town unique!

Bridgemary ward      by-election

A by-election for the Bridgemary ward will be held on Thursday 15 January 2026, following the recent death of Cllr Bob Maynard, who held the seat. Gosport residents who are eligible and live in the Bridgemary ward will be able to vote from 7am to 10pm on the day. Poll cards will be delivered to registered voters from Friday 5 December, and postal votes to existing postal voters from Monday 22 December. Voters must bring an accepted form of Voter ID to receive their ballot paper. More information about the by-election, including the deadline to register or apply for a postal/proxy vote:

M27 closure from 24 December to 4 January

Reminder: the M27 will be fully closed from 24 December to 4 January 2026, between Junctions 9 (Whiteley) and 11 (Fareham). County Council Highways crews will be working 24/7 to install a new four-lane underpass. A signed diversion will be in place via the A27, expect it to be busy, especially between 10am and 4pm daily. Please plan ahead and allow extra time as journey times will be considerably longer. If you're heading to Portsmouth over Christmas or attending a Pompey Football Club home match, skip the traffic by taking the ferry from Gosport and riding the bus.

Adventure playpark coming to Lee-on-the-Solent

We're excited to reveal plans for a new adventure playpark coming to Lee-on-the-Solent soon. It be split into two zones: Ninja Trail - for juniors and teens - with giant monkey bars, a warrior ramp, climbing slopes and lots more. Fitness zone - for older children and adults - with pull-up bars, dip bars, a sit-up bench, and space to exercise. Both will have inclusive equipment and areas for wheelchair users and all abilities. It's being built on the site of the former skatepark on the seafront. Work is starting shortly and the park is expected to open in the spring.