Plans to expand Tipner park and ride to create 'new gateway' into Portsmouth to be discussed at council meeting

A new seven-storey transport hub, on the site of the existing Tipner park and ride adjacent to the M275, will be discussed by councillors at the planning committee on Tuesday.

As reported, the scheme will see the existing car parking spaces increase from 650 to 2,650.

Proposals to be discussed also include a bike hub with parking, a taxi rank, car, scooter and bicycle rental, public conveniences and offices and units.

Outline proposals in the planning committee report state: ‘The development proposals comprise a transport hub incorporating a transport interchange and a park and ride as a destination at the gateway to Portsmouth and the planned development around Tipner.

‘The development incorporates a multi-decked park and ride, which will replace the surface car parking areas of the existing park ride. Bus access into the bus stop area would be unchanged from the existing layout and vehicle access and egress would remain as per the existing arrangement.

‘The proposal is to redevelop the site with a multi-storey building up to 34.8 metres in height to provide up to 2,650 car spaces (a 398 per cent increase) and up to 50 cycle spaces.

‘It is also proposed, given the scale of the park and ride facility and the transfer of people from car to bus and vice versa to support small ancillary commercial and leisure uses.’

The application goes on to state there is ‘sufficient footfall and activity to support some small or modest ancillary commercial and leisure uses’ with small convenience shops, café, crèche and events space listed as ‘optional’ parts of the scheme. Whether or not they are included will depend on ‘further market assessment’.

It is anticipated the site would operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week (excluding Christmas Day and New Year’s Day), and would include the commercial and leisure uses subject to demand.

Among the plans, submitted by Savills on behalf of Portsmouth City Council, trees and plants could feature on the building to create a 'green mountain' effect.

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Council leader, councillor Gerald Vernon-Jackson, said in March: ‘Our issue is the number of people using the park and ride has been falling each year for several years.

‘We tried adding new routes like a new route into Southsea and other places but that was a complete failure.

'We need to make it more attractive to get more people in. It works reasonably well with people coming in to visit but not so much with people commuting - who are the people we want to use it.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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