Residents demand action over plan to regenerate land

John Cass, the chairman of the Tipner and Stamshaw Neighbourhood Forum, has been campaigning for years against heavy lorries using residential streets

Locals are calling for landowners in Tipner to get their act together and start work to create over 600 new homes, commercial space and roads to boost regeneration in Portsmouth adjacent to the M275.

Long-suffering Twyford Avenue resident John Cass, chairman of Stamshaw and Tipner Neighbourhood Forum, said nothing has happened in two years on the site after various proposals broke down.

The latest setback came after Homes England and Portsmouth City Council put progress on hold ahead of a meeting scheduled for Tuesday.

‘This has been going on for some time now – nothing has happened in the past two years,’ Mr Cass said.

‘We’re not asking for miracles, we just want to see action – we’ve been waiting long enough.

‘There should be 650 homes built with people living in them by now.’

To make matters worse, residents on Twyford Avenue have been forced to contend with noise and pollution as lorries and other vehicles have been using the road with it the only access route – although a resolution to that is now thought to be in place.

‘We’ve had to deal with all traffic using the route including 40-tonne lorries speeding up and down,’ Mr Cass continued.

‘The road has been left looking like a tip with cement, waste and pollution. It has been a scandal that it has been left like this for two years.’

The region is controlled by various landlords including Homes England, Tipner Regeneration Company (TRC), John Henry Pounds, the council and the Ministry of Defence.

Claire Upton-Brown, assistant director of city development at Portsmouth City Council, said: ‘We have a meeting on March 6 with Homes England to agree how we can prioritise plans for the site’s development, as the creation of more homes is a priority for us all.’

Homes England confirmed the meeting to establish the best way forward for the site.