Portsmouth pub to be bulldozed to make way for new homes

Councillors have approved proposals that will see The Brewers Arms on Milton Road demolished and replaced with a three-storey site containing nine flats.

Several councillors and members of the public voiced concerns about the development on the corner of Milton Road and Priory Crescent, however it was agreed to be the best use of the space.

Kimberly Barrett, from Keep Milton Green, attended the meeting. She said: ‘One of the major failures of this plan is the lack of solid agreement for affordable housing. Not only this but there is a lack of parking.

‘One of the spaces that was found in the developer’s survey was in my road and I don’t know how they found that. We never have spaces.’

Portsmouth City Council’s parking policy, which takes into account the number of homes and visitors, would require 13 car parking spaces for the development. However, only eight have been included in the plans.

Council leader Cllr Gerald Vernon-Jackson, who is not on the committee, said:  ‘The main reason I am against this application is that it is breaking the council’s policy on parking. The policy says it should not make parking worse. The idea that there are only eight spaces is laughable.

‘We should have the guts to stand up to this. If we don’t turn it down that is a green light to every developer in the city that the council doesn’t care about parking spaces. That would be a terrible place to be.’

However, officers confirmed a survey carried out between 2am and 5am over two consecutive nights found 13 on-street spaces.

Chris Flint, speaking on behalf of the agent, added: ‘We have taken into account both the local and national policy to provide a high quality living standard.

‘It is a good use of a brownfield site to provide high quality housing in a much needed area.’

Tory leader, Cllr Donna Jones, said: ‘Unfortunately I think this planning committee is not the right place for these frustrations to be met. It is in fact the government that need to enforce the point made by Kimberly and Gerald.’

Seven councillors voted in favour of the application, and one, Cllr Lynne Stagg, voted against.