By Jason Lewis, Local Democracy Reporter

The ambitions of the scrapped Portswood bus gate are “still very much alive”, according to the city council’s deputy leader.

Cllr Christie Lambert said the local authority needed to make sure every penny of the remaining £3.2million budget was spent in the right way.

She told members of the overview and scrutiny committee this would involve consulting with residents and various stakeholders in the community.

The Labour administration has confirmed the controversial bus gate, which was suspended midway through a six-month trial earlier this year, would not return.

However, the council still has a significant sum of money which must be spent on the Eastleigh to Southampton city centre transport corridor.

The scrutiny committee meeting on Thursday, September 18, heard the remaining budget was council match funding from the £68.5million Transforming Cities Fund programme and not part of an allocation from the Department for Transport.

Councillors were told there was no time pressure to spend the rest of the budget.

Cllr Lambert, who is also cabinet member for transport, said: “It is a substantial amount of money and it is right that we spend it wisely.

“The ambitions of the bus gate are still very much alive and we do really need to consult the residents and the various stakeholders in that community to make sure every penny is spent in absolutely the right way, that it is going to fulfil those objectives so we can improve the bus service, make it more accessible, make it more affordable.”

Cllr Lambert said any scheme would look to be “future proof” with consideration for the next 20 to 30 years.

She added: “It is not just going to be a few potted plants down the street.

“It will be real substantial improvements that we can see for years to come.”

The senior Labour councillor refused to commit to a timescale for the project, stating that the local authority needed to consult with the community on what they would like to see.

Professor Roger Brown, chair of Highfield Residents’ Association, said: “I don’t see any point in going forward with the scheme until there is a proper plan and strategy for the future of the Broadway as a district centre.”

The bus gate involved closing part of Portswood Road to cars at certain times of day, with only buses, taxis and bicycles permitted to travel along the stretch.

The trial went live in late January before being suspended in May following a review of interim traffic count data.

A petition calling for the scheme to be scrapped had attracted more than 5,500 signatures during the trial period.