University of Portsmouth plans five-storey car park at Eldon Building
The University of Portsmouth has applied for planning permission to build a new multi-storey car park next to the Eldon Building in Southsea.
The five-storey building would provide 214 spaces on land currently used as a surface car park behind the Eldon Building. The site covers 0.13 hectares and is part of the university’s city centre campus.
The university argues the scheme will centralise parking and free up other car parks for new teaching and research buildings. Planning papers state the “increased provision of parking at this centralised site will release other surface area car parks in UoP ownership, allowing them to be developed for other academic buildings and facilities.”
The southern face of the car park would feature a living green wall, which the university says is designed “to enhance site biodiversity.” Other walls would be finished in green and brown tones.
A consultation held in 2024 drew mixed views. Some people felt the car park “shouldn’t be proposed – need to encourage sustainable travel.” Others welcomed the green wall and asked for safety measures and electric vehicle charging points.
Portsmouth City Council gave pre-application advice supporting the principle of development. The council accepted the proposal in principle and said it would not encourage more car journeys into the city centre.
The project would also replace spaces lost to other university developments, including the Technology Building, the Civil Engineering extension, and the former Nuffield Centre site.
Together these schemes will remove 150 existing spaces. The car park is intended to re-provide them in one “sustainable and accessible location.”
The university says the project is a key part of its £250m Estate Masterplan, launched in February 2025.
Planning documents say the masterplan is “essential” in order to improve the University’s “competitive position and attractiveness to students”.
“Without doing so, there will be a significant impact on UoP’s current contribution to the local and regional economy, and it is therefore vitally important that the proposed development.”
Residents can view and comment on the application on the council website using the planning reference 25/00973/FUL.
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