Plans for the Tipner West site – just off the M275 – would create a ‘kerbless’ community, with cars concealed underground in a large parking complex.

Portsmouth City Council has just hosted an event to engage industry stakeholders on its proposals for the scheme, which involves 27 hectares of land reclamation.

“People want to live in communities, not concrete,” said the council’s cabinet member for housing Darren Sanders. “That is why we want to see not just an area people want to live in, but a place that will have as little impact as possible on the climate and air pollution crisis the city faces.”

Council leader Gerald Vernon-Jackson added: “The plans for Tipner West address our needs for marine employment and housing, with a large focus on health and wellbeing for a new and sustainable community. We hope this will set the bar for future developments in Portsmouth.”

Work is currently scheduled begin at Tipner West in summer 2023.

A council spokesman told TP Weekly News that cars would be directed into the underground parking area shortly after turning off the motorway towards the new community. The intention is also to provide public transport access to and from the development, including via a rapid transit scheme already in planning.

Details around vehicle access to the community itself – such as for emergency services or deliveries – are still being ironed out, the spokesman added. He speculated that residents could travel around the site using some form of public or shared electric transportation.

Image: Portsmouth City Council