Tipner East: Plans for more than 800 new Portsmouth homes to be decided by councillors next week

Both the Environment Agency and Coastal Partners said new documents submitted by Vivid for its proposed Tipner East scheme has allayed their concerns, paving the way for the application to be green lit.

For a second time, the committee report recommends planning permission be granted for the construction of 835 homes, the majority of which will be flats in several 11-storey blocks. Of these, 250 would be affordable.

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Mark Perry, the chief executive of Vivid, said he hoped councillors would back the recommendation.

‘I am looking forward to speaking to the members of the planning committee on Wednesday, March 1, and explaining how our plans for Tipner East will regenerate this key gateway site to the city,’ he said. ‘We are keen to get on with our plans to deliver affordable housing for local Portsmouth families, alongside substantial infrastructure such as flood defences.’

The return of the application follows the submission of a new flood risk assessment earlier this month in response to several concerns, including details of the sea defences, emergency arrangements and the lack of up-to-date data.

The Environment Agency withdrew its objection at the end of last week, saying it was happy with the proposal, subject to several conditions around the detailed design of the development being enforced.

‘Following review of this information, we are now in a position to withdraw our objection subject to the inclusion of the conditions as we are satisfied that an adequate flood risk assessment has now been undertaken,’ senior planning advisor Laura Lax said.

Her comments echoed the position of Coastal Partners, which said it was now satisfied with the design of a new flood gate.

A council report published ahead of Wednesday’s meeting said the resolution of these matters meant a decision could now be made.

‘This is a complex application that if implemented would take a significant period of time to complete,’ it says. ‘However, there are significant planning benefits in redeveloping this vacant site.’