Portsmouth to receive over 200 homes through new redevelopment scheme

As part of the Tipner East Scheme, plans to build an additional 221 homes are set to be approved for land north of Stamshaw Junior School in Portsmouth.

Councillors in Portsmouth have been urged to give plans to build the homes the greenlight at a meeting that is scheduled to be held on 31^st May 2023. The new homes, which were proposed by Bellway Homes Ltd and Homes England, will be in addition to the 835 that are already set to be constructed on the site.

However, giving the plans the go-ahead is controversial as dozens of residents have flagged their objections and 378 people have signed a petition against them.

At the beginning of March, housing association Vivid proposed to build 835 new homes in 11-storey tower blocks at Tipner East of which the project includes 250 affordable properties and new sea defences for the area.

As well as concerns that have been issued against the recent developments to expand on the redevelopment plan, concerns were raised at the beginning of the year as the project only includes 194 parking spaces, however the figure could increase if an agreement is reached for 396 spaces as part of the planned transport hub.

Cabinet Member, Darren Sanders, said the scheme would provide ‘significant benefits’ and the parking issue could be eased by routing more bus services via the neighbouring park and ride.

In addition, resident Tracey Lewis, who is coordinating the petition against the new development plans, said the proposed access routes to the new estate were unsuitable and could turn other roads in Stamshaw and Tipner into rat runs.

In an official report, Portsmouth City Council officers labelled the application as ‘complex’ and would take a ‘significant period of time to complete’ if approved. However, authorities added there are ‘significant planning benefits in redeveloping this vacant site.’

Image: Léa Debroise