Portsmouth Debenhams: Developer behind city centre skyscraper scheme says project is still on track

Last month Phil Salmon Ltd withdrew its planning application for the demolition of the building, prompting concerns about the future of the proposals it unveiled in December.

But the Isle of Wight-based company, which is acting on behalf of the developer, has said this scheme is still progressing and that a full planning application is expected to be submitted to the city council in July.

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Should it be built, the 38-storey building proposed for the site would be the tallest in the city and provide more than 400 homes – an unspecified number of which would be ‘affordable key worker housing’. Alongside this, the development would also provide 1,800sqm of ground floor retail space and 3,600sqm of commercial space above it.

‘We’re still very much pushing for the development of the site,’ Phil Salmon, who previously worked for the city council, said. ‘We’re working through the technical assessments at the moment and we’re planning to submit a full application in July.’

He said the decision to withdraw the application for the building’s demolition had been taken due to the ‘reluctance’ of the council to approve it without a replacement proposal in place. Instead, approval for demolition work will be included in the new application.

‘It’s very much full steam ahead,’ Mr Salmon added. ‘We’ve been working very closely with the city council and we hope that once the application has been submitted we could get a [planning] committee date before the end of the year.’

The company’s proposals received a cautious welcome during a public consultation held at the end of last year, with councillors welcoming the redevelopment of the site, but raising concern about the potential for the site to be used either for ‘luxury’ or student accommodation.

The development would be named Jubilee Place in recognition of the platinum jubilee and the Queen Elizabeth II fountain.

Meanwhile, negotiations are continuing between the city council and the owner of the former Debenhams in Southsea about turning into a health centre.