Future Portsmouth plan launched despite uncertainty over council's future

Portsmouth has been given more than £100,000 to start a new local development plan, despite the council being unlikely to exist by the time it is adopted.

Following legislative changes, local authorities have been provided with a new framework for submitting local plans.

A local plan sets out policies, sites and the vision for future development in an area, typically spanning 15 to 20 years, and acts as a development blueprint.

The council has already submitted a local plan in March this year, which is due to be adopted next year. However, it was prepared under the previous plan-making system and will likely be superseded by the new plan, dubbed the Future Portsmouth Plan (FPP), if it is adopted.

The council has received a £108,474 grant from the government to start the new process.

Under the new system, plans progress through a series of stages called Gateways, with a government target of just 30 months from start to adoption.

For Portsmouth, that would mean scoping consultations this summer, a public consultation in spring 2027, Planning Inspectorate reviews in late 2027 and mid-2028, and final adoption in April 2029.

However, the council is due to be absorbed into a new unitary authority, provisionally called South East Hampshire (SEH), on 1 April 2028 — around 22 months away.

This could mean that the new SEH authority, which would span the existing Portsmouth, Fareham, Gosport and Havant councils, could either adopt the FPP or scrap it and start from scratch.

At a council meeting this week Councillor Hugh Mason, cabinet member for planning policy, said it is “important” that the council gets ahead of this “even in this time of uncertainty”.

He said the FPP could address complications surrounding the Tipner West regeneration scheme, and would allow the plan to feed into county-wide strategic planning overseen by the Hampshire and the Solent Combined County Authority, due to take effect in May 2028.

Councillor Stuart Brown expressed optimism, stating that it would be beneficial to the new SEH authority to adopt an approved, or soon-to-be-approved, plan rather than starting from scratch.