Wildlife charities launch petition against Tipner West super peninsula in Portsmouth

WILDLIFE charities are asking for public backing to block a major development of 4,000 homes in Portsmouth, calling it 'one of the most significant threats' to nature in the country.
By Fiona Callingham
Published 13th Nov 2020, 11:13 BST
Updated 13th Nov 2020, 16:35 BST
Tipner West which would be re-developed into a super peninsula for 4,000 homes. Picture: Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife TrustTipner West which would be re-developed into a super peninsula for 4,000 homes. Picture: Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust
Tipner West which would be re-developed into a super peninsula for 4,000 homes. Picture: Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust (HIWWT) have launched a petition for the super-peninsula scheme at Tipner West to be scrapped.

It comes as Portsmouth City Council recently approved a spend of £8m to progress with plans for the site that include reclaiming around 67 acres of land from Portsmouth Harbour’s Special Protection Area.

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Tipner West plans leave wildlife experts ‘far from convinced’
How Tipner West could look if the city council's plans are approved. Picture: Portsmouth City CouncilHow Tipner West could look if the city council's plans are approved. Picture: Portsmouth City Council
How Tipner West could look if the city council's plans are approved. Picture: Portsmouth City Council
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Nick Bruce-White, RSPB operations director for Southern England, said: 'This is one of the most significant threats to wildlife from a development we have seen in recent times, not just locally, but nationally.

'Portsmouth Harbour is of international importance, especially for its wintering waterbirds, such as Brent geese, black tailed godwits and other wading birds. The development will utterly destroy vital feeding and roosting grounds as well as causing long-term disturbance to any wildlife that remains.

‘It’s the nature equivalent of a developer proposing to demolish the city’s historic dockyard and sink the HMS Victory. We are not arguing here about the need for housing and development. But this is totally the wrong place for this proposal.’

So far around 3,000 people have signed the petition.

SEE ALSO: Plans for super peninsula in Portsmouth revealed

Chief executive of HIIWT, Debbie Tann, added: ‘This proposal beggars belief. In a time of crisis for the environment, health and the economy, spending millions of pounds of public money pursuing plans to destroy internationally important natural assets and undermine the city’s long-term sustainability is crazy.’

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However, Councillor Hugh Mason, the council's city development boss, explained the land reclamation was necessary due to government targets to build 855 new homes in Portsmouth every year.

He said: ‘We are fully aware that the site of the proposed Tipner West development is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSI), a Special Protection Area (SPA) and a Ramsar site, which is why we are working with Natural England and the Environment Agency and following the stringent ecological and environmental regulations that this important area necessitates.

‘If these statutory organisations are not happy with the scheme it will not go ahead.’

The petition can be found via action.wildlifetrusts.org/page/70887/petition/1.

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