Wildlife groups back slimmer Tipner West proposal for 1,000 homes and employment site but no marine hub
After a lengthy dispute, the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust and the RSPB say they are “encouraged” by Portsmouth City Council’s revised plans for Tipner West.
The 140-acre site, north-west of Portsea Island, has been at the centre of a long-running row between the council and conservation groups.
The land, made up of saltmarshes, mudflats and tidal creeks, carries several ecological protections because of its importance to wildlife and migratory birds.
Previous plans for up to 1,250 homes, new sea defences and a marine employment hub were rejected twice by the government – but both decisions were later withdrawn after the council pointed out flawed and inadequate reasoning.
Frustrated by delays, the council wrote to ministers in October after waiting nearly a year for a decision, saying the hold-up prevented it from meeting the March 2025 deadline for the local plan – which guides development in the city up to 2040.
A slimmer proposal will now be submitted alongside the local plan before the final deadline in June 2026. Plans for a bridge to Horsea Island, dredging for deep-water access, and a “regionally significant” marine hub have been dropped.
Around 1,000 homes and 25,000 square metres of employment space are now proposed, while land south of the firing range will remain open and undeveloped. Council officers called the loss of the marine hub “disappointing”, saying it would have provided “much-needed new jobs and opportunities for training.”
The Wildlife Trust and RSPB have long opposed earlier proposals for “crossing legal red lines for nature”.
In a joint statement, they said: “Tipner West remains a challenging site on which to deliver a major development due to its important wildlife interests, but we are encouraged by Portsmouth City Council’s revised policy for the site, as set out in the proposed Addendum, which shows what Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust and the RSPB have always maintained.
“Housing and employment development can be delivered here while still safeguarding wildlife, upholding the vital legal protections and giving local people the opportunity to benefit from nature on their doorstep.
“We will seek to hold the Council to their new stated vision for the site, which commits them to cherishing and protecting the nationally and internationally designated populations of Brent Geese and wading birds that call this place home.”
Councillor Hugh Mason, cabinet member for planning policy, expressed “disappointment” with the new proposal since it will no longer provide “advanced manufacturing employment”. He warned the new proposal could “make it more difficult to construct the necessary sea defences to the high standard which the people of the city have a right to expect.”
The new proposal, which is contained in a local plan addendum, was approved by the full council on November 11.