Tipner West: 'Foolhardy' decisions by Portsmouth council criticised by Hampshire wildlife trust

The wildlife trust criticised the council’s plans to build on the reclaimed land from the harbour, which has several ecological protections. The site in question is both a special protection area (SPA) for birds and a Ramsar site for wetlands, as well as being designated a site of special scientific interest. Species there include Brent Geese, Dunlin, Black-tailed Godwit and Bass. A petition between the wildlife trust and RSPB garnered 25,000 signatures, prompting the council to abandon its original £1bn “super peninsula” that would have built up to 4,000 homes on the site. Now the revised plans propose somewhere between 814 and 1,250 homes alongside at least 58,000sqm of marine-focussed employment space.

In a recent cabinet meeting on Monday, Councillor Lee Hunt addressed the regulatory challenges and delays associated with the project. He said: “I find it extraordinary that sometimes the greenest of people… they have caused some of the biggest problems around this including the HIWWT (Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust).”

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Cllr Hunt stressed the importance of new sea defences for Tipner, which cannot be built independently of the homes and employment space. He added: “I’m not taking a swipe at them but they really need to understand that we need to get on with this because if we don’t the sea is going to come in a sweep over the land anyway and they’re going to lose the very thing that they say they’re fighting for. We’ve all seen the projections of the flooding across North Stamshaw. Sea defences around Stamshaw and Tipner are as important as anywhere else and they’re in a shoddy state of repair.”

In response the trust said it’s not wildlife charities that have been delaying the progress at Tipner West, but the council’s “foolhardy decisions to pursue a development which crosses legal red lines for nature”, it said. “We have been very clear that we think there is a solution for Tipner West that does not build over the legally protected sites for nature and provides the necessary flood defences, housing and employment space for Portsmouth.

“We are also acutely aware of the impacts of sea level rise on Portsmouth and that the response to climate adaptation should be strategic to ensure that the Harbours can continue to function to support the wildlife that relies on them, and the people of Portsmouth. This is an issue that stretches far beyond Tipner West and should be considered holistically across the city.

“While we agree with the need to upgrade the existing flood defences across much of Tipner to safeguard people’s homes, it is a false narrative to state that these defences are needed for the protected sites for wildlife. The council’s own flood risk modelling shows that the terrestrial SPA/Ramsar, which we are fighting to protect, will be the only part of Tipner West not underwater in 2125.”