Find a way to get visionary scheme off the ground

The phrase between a rock and a hard place springs to mind when it comes to the grand plan to reclaim acres of land from the sea at Tipner West to build a minicity of 4,000 new homes. Hailed last year as a ‘gamechanging vision’ for the future, the plans for Tipner West were revealed in a blaze of glory with sparkly, Utopian computer images of modern new landscaped homes amid glass and chrome office blocks with not a car in sight, because all the parking would be underground.

A series of exhibitions was held around the city to win hearts and minds over to the concept of the £1bn super peninsula plan.

Portsmouth City Council’s plan is alive and well despite the need for massive investment from developers to get it off the ground.

But, quicker than you can say Brent geese, concerns over wildlife and ecology began to emerge.

The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust says the development will harm mudflats which are home to fish including bass and feeding grounds for thousands of black-tailed godwit, Brent geese and other waterbirds – across three designated sites of ecological interest.

The city council’s plan is to offset any environmental loss at Tipner by buying land elsewhere and re-wilding it — adding an extra layer of cost and complication to an already complex project.

The driving force behind all this is government targets on building new housing, which city council leader Cllr Gerald Vernon-Jackson describes as ‘completely ludicrous’.

Environmental concerns remain but aside from retrieving new land from the sea, the only way to build in Portsmouth is up

espite all the hurdles in the way, the plans for Tipner West deserve to succeed. They are visionary and forward looking and point the way to a prosperous future for the city.