Investment zone: Portsmouth City Council bids to set up zone covering port and Tipner

City council leader Gerald Vernon-Jackson said a formal expression of interest had been made, alongside separate bids from Southampton and Isle of Wight councils.

'We wanted to submit a joint bid but couldn't do so under the government's rules,' he said. 'What we have done is submit separate bids but reference each other's and made it clear that we are very supportive of each other.

'It is still an expression of interest at this stage and there are still concerns about some of the things they might allow - particularly if developers are able to build whatever they like without planning permission

'But we are very keen to explore anything which encourages investment and the creation of jobs in our city.'

The concept was announced by the former chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng during his ‘mini budget’ last month in a bid to increase private sector activity by loosening tax and planning rules.

This includes cutting employment taxes, abolishing stamp duty and allowing companies to write-off equipment purchases.

The government said ‘simplified’ planning arrangements included ‘reviewing ineffective EU requirements, lengthy consultations with statutory bodies and onerous national and local policy rules’.

Cllr Vernon-Jackson previously said that the council would not be interested if the scheme led to weakened workers' rights or environmental protections.

But conservation groups are still worried about the idea.

Debbie Tann, the chief executive at Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, said she had 'significant concerns' existing rules would not apply in investment zones.

'The announcement of new investment zones represents a free-for-all on nature by weakening the laws previously in place to protect it from bulldozers and concrete,' she said.

The trust, together with the RSPB, has spearheaded opposition to the city council's plans to redevelop nearby land in Tipner which it said would destroy protected habitats in Portsmouth Harbour.

Expressions of interest from councils were accepted from the beginning of the month and Levelling Up Secretary Simon Clarke said 'hundreds' of bids had been made.

Thirty-eight local authorities, of which Portsmouth City Council was not one, were directly approached about the possibility of creating a zone.

The government said it would confirm successful applications ‘within weeks’.