Government agrees to redetermine Portsmouth City Council’s rejected 800-home Tipner West development proposal following legal action, sparking fresh criticism from wildlife groups over continued uncertainty surrounding the environmentally protected site.
The controversial marine employment hub proposal has returned to the agenda after ministers agreed to reconsider Portsmouth City Council’s previously blocked scheme.
The review comes after the council initiated legal proceedings against Housing Secretary Angela Rayner, challenging her March decision to refuse the development.
Portsmouth officials argue that Rayner’s original rejection was founded on “inadequate and flawed reasoning”. Environmental organisations, including the RSPB and Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, had celebrated the initial refusal due to the site’s ecological significance.
The Tipner West location sits on Portsea Island’s north-western boundary and holds triple protection status as a Special Protection Area for birds, Site of Special Scientific Interest, and internationally recognised Ramsar wetland.
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust chief executive Debbie Tann MBE had previously praised the government’s decision, stating the development “would have seen development trashing both important harbour habitats and legal safeguards”.
Wildlife groups express frustration
Responding to the government’s decision to reassess, Tann described the original rejection as “sound” and hoped the review would “simply clarify their reasoning for that decision”.
She condemned the ongoing “back and forth” as “frankly a waste of time” that only creates “uncertainty and delay on the future of this important site”.
Tann called on the council to honour commitments to develop a revised proposal with “a different balance to overcome environmental concerns”. The Trust maintains its willingness to support a “nature positive exemplar development”.
She emphasised that the process had demonstrated compensatory measures were unsuitable and stressed these habitats are “irreplaceable” with protection that “must never be called into question again”.
Planning Bill Faces Conservation Groups’ Backlash
Council defends development necessity
Council leader Steve Pitt wrote to Angela Rayner expressing “deep disappointment” over what he termed an “ill-considered” and “unlawful” decision.
Pitt urged swift government engagement to enable the site’s inclusion in Portsmouth’s local planning framework.
He warned that without development funding for crucial sea defences, “the site and surrounding areas will flood and contamination will wash into the sea destroying both people and nature”.
Portsmouth City Council reportedly plans to modify the project pending clearer guidance on what ministers would deem acceptable.
