St John’s College: Plans for 212 homes at college are recommended for approval

Portsmouth City Council’s planning committee will determine a planning application, submitted by Southsea Village Ltd, to convert and demolish buildings at the former private boarding school in Grove Road South to create a large residential development on the 1.97-hectare site. The development will be made up of 49 one-bed flats, 138 two-bed, 24 three-bed and one four-bed across the across the grounds of the former independent school which closed in the summer of 2022 due to declining student numbers. The developers have also applied for listed building consent to carry out conversion works to The Castle in Grove Road South and Linholme in The Thicket to create eight homes.

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Council documents state: “The proposal would retain all the buildings on the site of historic merit, demolish some smaller buildings and replace them with larger blocks and remodel several of the larger buildings In order to facilitate the development, five buildings are proposed to be demolished, including the Coach House, A-Block, The Firme, Simon Wing and West End.”

Planning documents state the former college buildings are “falling into a state of disrepair” which poses security and fire risks in addition to them being targets of anti-social behaviour. “Thus, the project has progressed swiftly, working with the local community, council and an array of additional consultants to secure the long-term future of the buildings. The existing school site is in a prime location for residential development, offering the opportunity to contribute towards Portsmouth’s acute shortage.

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"The proposal will provide quality homes with a dynamic and exciting environment to act as a catalyst to the community and enhance the area.”

A total of 105 parking spaces are proposed, which equates to 0.5 spaces per dwelling. All spaces will provide EV charging points together with 375 cycle parking spaces and 38 short-stay cycle spaces. The application has received 94 objections from local residents, the main areas of focus revolve around the loss of a school site and overdevelopment in the area. Residents can view or comment on the application here or by using the reference 23/01089/FUL.