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History of Fraser Range

Fraser Range is a key part of Portsmouth's proud Naval history.  It was previously used as both a Royal Naval gunnery range and research centre, but has sadly now fallen into disrepair.

Fraser Range was used to train the Royal Navy throughout the Cold War in the use of various armaments and the site’s 4.5in guns were often heard across the city.

The gunnery range closed in the 1980s, at which point it became an Admiralty Research Establishment concerned with Civil Marine radar. Qinetiq purchased the site in 2001, before subsequently closing the site permanently in 2006.

In 2005 QinetiQ was granted conditional consent for the provision of 131 units across three residential towers. The consent was dependent on agreeing infrastructure costs and maintenance of sea defences, something which was never achieved, and so the application was subsequently withdrawn in 2011. Sadly, since the site has been derelict, it has become a target for persistent anti-social behaviour.

In late 2017, National Regional Property Group became the developers for the site when it was purchased from QinetiQ and have been working on proposals to present to the public, to develop the site for residential use.