Tipner West: Crunch meeting over Lennox Point development's future is now pushed back until September by Portsmouth City Council

Lib Dem council leader Gerald Vernon-Jackson said last week that consideration of a report on the project had been delayed from Tuesday's cabinet meeting until August to allow the full council to reach an agreement.

However, it has been confirmed that it will now be discussed at an extra meeting of the cabinet on September 6, after each of the opposition group leaders has been given a chance to outline their priorities for the site.

'We've been open and transparent,' cabinet member for planning policy Lee Hunt said. 'We've been told that one minute we're dithering and the next we're rushing - it's not true and I completely reject that.

'What we've agreed with group leaders - and they asked for it - is that they will all have their own briefing. I did suggest that maybe we could have done it all together to save more time but they didn't want that.

'I was hoping the report would be here [at Tuesday's meeting] because I want to move on, but it's not and we will have to wait.'

The briefings are due to take place over the next few weeks and an extra meeting of the full council will be called, Cllr Mason added, if any formal decision of the council is needed.

The decision to arrange the briefings was made between group leaders at the end of last week.

Cllr Hunt's comments were made in response to criticism of the latest delay in reaching a decision on the controversial scheme by Conservative group leader Simon Bosher, and the knock-on effect of delaying the new Local Plan for the city.

‘We are two years late in submitting a local plan and the blame for that rests solely at the feet of Cllr Vernon-Jackson and his administration,’ Cllr Bosher said.

Earlier this year the expected date for submitting a draft version of the document setting out how the council will meet its 17,700-home target was pushed back to spring next year.

However, that has now been delayed again until ‘late summer’ next year.

'We're working steadily and progressively towards delivering a plan,' Cllr Hunt said. 'I am confident that we will get it accepted by the examiner when they look at it.

'To rush it because other politicians want us to rush it is wrong.'