Political comment: Amanda Martin MP slams council delays as housing development remains stalled
Amanda Martin MP has again written to Portsmouth City Council over its repeated failures and broken promises after delays to a major housing development that could deliver much-needed homes for local people is in stalemate.
The development at Tipner, remains stuck despite assurances from the Council that the issue would be resolved. As a result, no homes are starting to be built, leaving local families waiting while the Council fails to act.
Amanda Martin MP said the problem is not complex and is not about whether nitrate mitigation is needed, but simply about who will take responsibility for monitoring mitigation land at Knowle, she said:“This development is stalled because the Council will not make a decision. I was assured this would be resolved instead, it has stalled again, exactly as I warned it would.”
She made clear that her concerns are shared by others, not just herself, Miss Martin added:“This isn’t my personal opinion, those who are ready to invest in our city are all saying the same thing: the lack of action and clear processes from Portsmouth City Council are stopping homes being delivered and it’s giving our city a bad reputation amongst developers.”
Although the mitigation land sits in Winchester, the planning condition is imposed by Portsmouth City Council. Neither Portsmouth nor Winchester has yet agreed to take on monitoring, despite the fact that the costs would not fall on Portsmouth taxpayers, but would be covered by Homes England or the developer forever. Agreements are already in place for surrounding areas.
The Portsmouth North MP has questioned what is going on, she said:“The excuses simply don’t stack up, on neighbouring sites at Knowle, councils already monitor mitigation land for developments they approved. Portsmouth City Council could do the same, it just isn’t choosing to. No agreement means no building. No building means no homes.”
“Local people are paying the price for the Council’s failure to get its act together.”
Amanda Martin MP also criticised the Council for publicly claiming there is no issue, despite clear evidence to the contrary. She added:“Instead of attacking me or pretending there isn’t a problem, the Council should be fixing it.”
“Those who want to invest in our city should not have had to come to me to unlock this, my priority is simple: getting homes built for Portsmouth families. I will keep pushing until that happens.”
“What’s needed now is leadership, honesty, and urgent action not more delay.”
Amanda has called on senior Council leaders to intervene immediately and set out exactly how and when this issue will be resolved.