Expired student housing plan leaves city centre shops boarded up
A row of shops in Portsmouth city centre were boarded up five years ago - but the planned student housing was never built and now planning permission has expired
City centre shops were boarded up for nearly five years to make way for a student block scheme that was never built.
As previously reported, traders on Arundel Street in the city centre raised concerns over the boarded-up shops affecting the look of the road and footfall to the pedestrianised part of the street.
Portsmouth City Council approved Fusion Students’ plans for a student block with four ground floor shops in the summer of 2021 on the site between 12 and 28 Arundel Street.
It was around that time that the shops were boarded up in anticipation of their demolition so that the block could be built, but there has been no visible progress on site to date.
A council spokesperson has clarified that the planning permission for the project has expired, and would need to be resubmitted.
Lee Hobson, who used to run Comic Book XS on number 26, said: “it’s a shame as we could all still be in there.
“But the shops have been gutted, even the stairs have been removed. It would have been nice if the owners just bulldozed the shops, then at least we wouldn’t be thinking ‘what if’.”
Victoria Simpson of the nearby clothing store Port Maid described it as a “huge disappointment” as “everyone” talks about the empty shops.
“We’ve been so excited that something hopefully was in the pipeline to get this up and running again.”
In 2020, a spokesperson for Fusion Students stated that the development would be completed in 2024.
The plans proposed a part seven, part 21, and part 28 storey tower to accommodate 591 student beds and four ground floor shops.
When planning permission expires, the applicant cannot lawfully build what was approved and the site reverts to its previous status, as if permission was never granted.
An applicant could resubmit the application, submit a different proposal, or sell the site.
Fusion Students declined to comment and provide background information about their intentions for the site. Fusion operates student housing London, York, Nottingham, Leeds and Manchester. It does not mention Portsmouth on its website.