Queens Hotel scheme faces refusal recommendation over heritage concerns

Plans for two new residential blocks beside the historic Queens Hotel in Southsea have hit a hurdle after being recommended for refusal.

The scheme, led by Pegasus Group, covers almost 5,000 sqm and includes the former casino at 18-24 Osborne Road, numbers 12-16, and land to the south-east of the hotel.

Under the plans the buildings would be demolished and replaced with “The Residence” – a seven-storey block with shops at ground level and 55 one, two and three-bedroom apartments above.

Beside it, “The Pavilion” would rise to five storeys and provide 23 apartments. Both blocks would include a mix of one, two and three-bedroom homes. No affordable housing is included.

However Portsmouth City Council officers have recommended to next week’s (May 27) planning committee that the application be rejected because of the ‘impact of the proposed buildings on the surrounding heritage assets’.

But the application was referred to the planning committee after being called in by Councillor Steve Pitt, who supports the proposal.

There have been 20 objections from members of the public and one from Historic England, on the grounds that it would result in “harm” to the Grade II listed hotel and the Owen’s Southsea Conservation Area.

The committee report states that Historic England “also noted a lack of clear and convincing justification for the loss of the Casino”.

The council’s conservation and design officer also objects, arguing harm to the listed building and conservation area, and citing the negative impact of the proposed buildings’ scale, height and massing.

Planning officers have also said that the buildings are “not considered to represent excellent architectural quality and fail to understand and relate positively to the site and its local and wider context”.

The scheme would create a new road access from Clarence Parade, leading to 61 parking spaces, below the 119 required under council standards.

Developers argue that nearby public transport links and the Southsea Common car park offset the shortfall. A total of 172 cycle spaces are proposed.

One of four supporters of the project said the plans, scale and ambition were “exactly what the area needs” and argued that “the quicker we can see this type of large scale development and investment the better”.

While acknowledging parking pressures, they said residents who object should “move out of the city and buy a house with a drive or manage their expectations around road side parking”, adding that Portsmouth is “a densely populated city”.

They said they “fully support this scheme” as it would regenerate the area and “bring much needed life into Osbourne Road and surrounding areas”.