Even now there is still the comical circling approach due lack of Regulated airspace.
yes, the people who are currently using that airspace cant just disappear so this is another good reason why Southampton should not expand. As many people have said there is a perfectly good airfield just a few miles to the west with plenty of regulated airspace and wasting the scarce resource that is airspace having two very quiet airfields with two portions of airspace is not a good use of that resource. If we look at the arrivals board there are not that many arrivals from the north, particularly during the hours that the airspace to the north is actually very busy, so no pressing need to extend the airspace north.