Plan unveiled for second 'parklet' in Portsmouth - in HIghland Road, Eastney

Submitted just before Christmas, the Pompey Parklets application proposes the new pop-up park be built on Highland Road, outside Goulds Jewellers, Broadway Coffee Roasters and Top Marks.

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Unlike the first parklet, which was installed in Albert Road in October, the second scheme requires planning permission with Portsmouth City Council setting a deadline of February 3 for reaching a decision.

Councillor Charlotte Gerada, a member of the group set up to ‘liven up’ urban areas of the city, said this was due to ‘a number of factors’.

‘We have been busy working behind the scenes to get this application submitted and work with the council to get the application completed as swiftly as possible,’ she said. ‘Pending approval, we are aiming to install in the spring or summer. This is so the site can be used to its full potential at a better time of year in terms of weather.’

She said the group was ‘confident’ the process would go smoothly, adding that the project had received ‘huge support’ from people living in the area and surrounding businesses.

The temporary parklet will be made up of planters, seating spaces, pergolas and cycle parking and will be built on the on-street parking spaces.

Pompey Parklets raised tens of thousands of pounds through a crowdfunding campaign to support its work. The group was also awarded £10,000 from Sport England and £15,000 from British Airways.

The Albert Road and Highland Road projects are its two main focuses but group members have said they are willing to help support schemes elsewhere in the city.

The application was submitted by Annabel Innes of Form+Function, another group member. A statement submitted with her application said it had been designed to ‘cater for a variety of different needs and behaviours’.

Speaking at the launch of the first parklet, Central Southsea ward councillor George Fielding said it would help 'liven up' the area and that he hoped it would be 'the first of many'.

'It's been a real community effort and I want it to become a place the community can be proud of and take ownership of,' he said. 'It shows what can be done to help regenerate urban areas when you only have limited space.'