CIVIC chiefs in Winchester have revealed they are preparing for the possibility of a no-deal Brexit.

It came after Lib Dem councillor Neil Cutler, a farmer in Southwick, asked what contingency plans had Winchester City Council put in place for the event of leaving the EU without a deal.

Conservative council leader Cllr Caroline Horrill said: “The council is closely following developments relating to Brexit and assessing the potential impacts of ‘no-deal’ exit from the European Union on March 29.

“Each corporate head of service has completed an assessed of the potential impacts of a no-deal exit on their services; including the possible effects on key contracts and contractors.

“The council is also engaging with the Local Resilience Forum (LRF) who are examining the local implications from a ‘no-deal’ Brexit in March.”

It comes after Hampshire County Council last month revealed their plans to mitigate against any potential Brexit impact, which included promising to protect the jobs of the European nationals the authority currently employs.

It recent weeks, there has also been fears that the M3 could be turned into a lorry park if there were delays at the port of Portsmouth due to a no-deal Brexit.

It was claimed a stretch of the southbound motorway between Winchester and Basingstoke would have been affected.

However, those claims were rubbished by transport chiefs, including transport secretary Chris Grayling who said they were “wholly false”.