Former Portsmouth health centre set to be demolished to make way for 16 new homes

At a meeting next week Portsmouth City Council’s housing cabinet member, Councillor Darren Sanders, will consider plans to build 16 new council-owned homes on the site of the Northern Parade Clinic.

If approved the health centre in Hilsea, which closed in 2011, will be demolished.

Proposals include three four-bedroom houses that are disability adapted.

Cllr Sanders said: ‘People with a need for specifically adapted homes can face a long wait for housing because there are limited properties available within our city to meet the needs of these households.

‘One of the most important things we are doing as a council is that we are working to provide a mix of homes to meet the varied needs of everybody in this city.

‘We are committed to dealing with our city’s housing shortage and sites like this are vital to what we are trying to achieve.

‘People living near this site have been asking for a long time what is happening and I will ensure that we engage local residents and their elected councillors about the plans.’

As well as the adapted dwellings the development will include nine two-bedroom flats and four three-bedroom houses.

The disabled adapted homes will be allocated to specific families and specifically designed for their needs. The remaining units will be allocated through the council’s housing register.

Cllr Sanders added: ‘These plans are obviously subject to planning permission but we are confident that we can use this site, which has been vacant for too long, to build new homes for Portsmouth as quickly as possible.’

The council has also started work on 23 flats on the former Southsea Community Centre site in King Street.

A decision will be made on July 30.