'Irreplaceable' site at risk as Tipner West plan returns as controversial 800 home plan is back on the table
The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust has criticised the government’s decision to revisit Tipner West plans, calling the ongoing uncertainty a threat to the "irreplaceable" site.
Plans for an 800-home marine employment hub at Tipner West are back under review after the government agreed to redetermine Portsmouth City Council’s previously rejected proposal.
The reconsideration follows legal action launched by the council against the secretary of state for housing, communities and local government, and deputy prime minister Angela Rayner.
The council claims her March decision to block the project was based on inadequate and flawed reasoning. The original rejection was hailed by conservation groups, including the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust (HIWWT), who stressed the ecological importance of the site.
Tipner West, located on the north-west edge of Portsea Island, is designated as a Special Protection Area (SPA) for birds, a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), and a Ramsar site - an internationally recognised wetland.
Debbie Tann MBE, chief executive of HIWWT, welcomed the initial decision, arguing the development “would have seen development trashing both important harbour habitats and legal safeguards".
Responding to news that the plans are being reassessed, Tann said the original refusal was “sound” and expressed hope that the government’s review would “simply clarify their reasoning for that decision.”
She criticised the "back and forth" as “frankly a waste of time” and does little but provide “uncertainty and delay on the future of this important site.”
Tann also urged the council to “keep their word” to bring forward a revised scheme with “a different balance to overcome environmental concerns.” She reiterated the Trust’s commitment to help deliver a “nature positive exemplar development.”
She further stressed that the process has revealed that compensatory measures are inappropriate and that these habitats are “irreplaceable” and their protection “must never be called into question again”.
In a letter to Angela Rayner, council leader Steve Pitt expressed deep disappointment over what he called an “ill-considered” and “unlawful” decision, urging the government to engage promptly so the site can be included in Portsmouth’s local plan.
Pitt warned that without development to fund essential new sea defences, “the site and surrounding areas will flood and contamination will wash into the sea destroying both people and nature.”
It is understood that Portsmouth City Council intends to revise the project once it has clearer guidance on what the Secretary of State would consider acceptable.