Lennox Point is being proposed to address two key needs in the city; the first is to meet demand for employment in the maritime manufacturing sector, and the second is meeting the housing requirements, which have been set by central government, to build 825 homes per year until 2036. This is in addition to the housing needed to support the growing workforce required for a marine employment hub at Lennox Point.
The council has explored several options to achieve these targets, which cannot be done on Portsea Island without building several high-rise apartment blocks and impacting on green spaces throughout the city. Therefore, Tipner West has been identified as the only possible site in Portsmouth which can accommodate both the development of the maritime industry and the required housing.
In 2013, a central government initiative called the City Deal was set up to address Portsmouth’s demise in shipbuilding and other specific skills in the marine and maritime sector. Portsmouth City Council received a government grant of c£50million to specifically develop a solution at the Tipner West-Horsea Island East site.
The grant is to enable the following:
Maximising the economic impact of our marine and maritime assets in
the area
Creating employment sites to enable the marine, maritime and advanced manufacturing sectors of the economy to expand
Providing new housing to support the growing workforce
Ensuring people have the right skills to access employment in these growing sectors
Focusing on unemployed people – especially the long-term and young unemployed – into work
Providing effective support to small and medium enterprises to enable them to grow
Therefore, the proposals allow for a significant mix of development, including 1 million square feet of marine employment and around 3,500 homes.
Through the 2013 City Deal, the council secured 31.5 hectares of land at Tipner West. However, to create a viable and sustainable community – critically the marine employment hub and assessed housing need for the city – as well as a local school, shops and amenities, a total land mass of 59 hectares is required. Therefore, it is proposed that 27.5 hectares of land is reclaimed from Portsmouth Harbour as part of development proposals for Lennox Point.
Marine employment
The marine and maritime economy is the largest sector in the Solent region, playing an important role as a gateway for trade with the rest of the world.
There are ambitious plans to grow the sector locally – as outlined by the Centre for Economics and Business Research in 2019: ‘The economic contribution of the Maritime Sector in the Solent LEP’, which plays to Portsmouth strengths, traditions and the skills of the local workforce.
However, despite an ambition for growth, there are issues with finding appropriate sites locally that meet the criteria required – as outlined in the Solent LEP report, ‘Maritime Futures: Solent Waterfront Sites’.
The unique combination of deep water access, excellent transport connections, and strategic position within the Solent makes Lennox Point an ideal location for a new marine employment hub.
Why is this industry important to Portsmouth?
This development addresses the decline in shipbuilding by reinforcing Portsmouth’s place in the heart of the Solent maritime economy.
What types of jobs will be produced at Lennox Point?
There will be a significant range of manual and skilled jobs, and training opportunities, in the marine sector – from superyacht building and engineering, to maritime research and green technology.
Many of the marine businesses will be in the technology sector with a diverse range of opportunities in research and development. Skills development, apprenticeships and training in the marine sector will also be an important focus.
What sort of facilities are proposed for the marine employment hub?
Proposals include a dredged channel to provide access at all states of the tide, major boat hoist facility, large boat sheds, maritime training campus to provide facilities for research and development, Enterprise Zone status will support development of new business, and premises such as workshops, offices and stores.
DID YOU KNOW?
In 2017, the Solent-based Maritime sector and Portsmouth Naval Base supported £12 billion in turnover, £5.8 billion in GVA (Gross Value Added) and 152,000 jobs.
What are the main considerations for how these homes are developed?
Lennox Point will provide around 3,500 new homes, just shy of a quarter of Portsmouth’s 2036 goal. These homes will offer people ways to live sustainably, from construction methods to clean energy, all within the nature and beauty of the harbour. We are committed to building homes that the people of Portsmouth can afford. We want to fulfil the next generation’s aspiration of living healthily, happily and ethically.
How will they be innovative/different?
Our ambition is to move away from displeasing tower blocks and concrete jungles by creating a range of housing types and tenures at an appropriate density and scale, suitable for Portsmouth.
Homes in Lennox Point will combine excellent design, sustainable delivery and a diverse range of typologies and settings. This will ensure that homes are of interest to all ages, income and lifestyles, creating a self-sustaining, diverse community. From single family housing placed in a rich landscape of natural assets and biodiversity, to sea view apartments at the heart of the site, the development offers the scale to create a complete community; providing new homes for all stages of life. We are building the design on historic and local context to create strong identity, whilst ensuring that homes are future ready to respond to changing work and lifestyles.
Design principles for homes:
A sense of community is a modern imperative. New homes are designed to connect people with each other by living streets, communal gardens, waterfront parks and pedestrianised spaces to encourage encounter and engagement.
The design and sizes of homes will reflect the needs of the area, including different tenures, different sizes and affordable housing, ensuring that affordable homes will be delivered across all phases of the development.
Homes will be located in walkable neighbourhoods designed for a future without cars and kerbs.
Design will respond to the landscape and the setting with character areas defined across the site, maximising views and access to the waterfront.
Designs will build on the historic and local context to create a strong sense of identity with material palettes and forms that draw on local materials but also showcase contemporary designs.
How safe is building homes on Lennox Point and on reclaimed land?
In order to ensure that homes are safe from flooding, the site will be raised and coastal defences will be provided around the edge of the development.
In order to ensure that homes are safe from flooding, the site will be raised to a minimum elevation of +4.5mAOD (Above Ordnance Datum) and coastal defences will be provided around the edge of the development.
To provide additional protection, building floor levels will be raised above the acceptable flood risk level (as determined by the Environment Agency) and flood resilient structural measures will be incorporated.
In addition, Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) will be constructed as part of the development which will provide protection to properties from the 1 in 100 year rainfall event, including climate change over the 100 year development life. The SuDS strategy will be designed in accordance with national and local policy and guidance.
What are the design principles for the homes?
A sense of community is a modern imperative. New homes are designed to connect people with each other by living streets, communal gardens, waterfront parks and pedestrianised spaces to encourage encounter and engagement.
The design and sizes of homes will reflect the needs of the area, including different tenures, different sizes and affordable housing, ensuring that affordable homes will be delivered across all phases of the development.
Homes will be located in walkable neighbourhoods designed for a future without cars and kerbs.
Design will respond to the landscape and the setting with character areas defined across the site, maximising views and access to the waterfront.
Designs will build on the historic and local context to create a strong sense of identity with material palettes and forms that draw on local materials but also showcase contemporary designs.
Transport
How will transport look and feel?
A comprehensive transport strategy has been developed to support the design principles of the development, prioritising sustainable modes of transport, such as walking, cycling and public transport.
Walking is specifically prioritised as the preferred mode of travel and as a defining component of a healthy quality of life. In fact, ‘Pedestrian First’ is one of our five design principles for Lennox Point.
An interchange is proposed, from which a range of transport modes will be available including; high frequency bus services connecting the site with the city centre, Park and Ride, Port Solent, railway stations and other local destinations; micro-mobility modes (cycling, e-scooters and e-bikes); car club vehicles; and ride sharing/hailing services (taxis, Uber etc.).
Car parking will be available for residents, however this will be limited and located centrally at the podium and the proposed multi-storey car park, adjacent to the interchange.
The site itself will be serviced via a dedicated local bus service following a route that ensures that all residents are within a five minute walk of bus stop.
For those unable to access this site bus service due to mobility impairments an internal mobility service will be available to connect these residents to their preferred transport mode at the interchange, ensuring that Lennox Point is fully inclusive.
How well connected will the Lennox Point community be to the rest of Portsmouth?
The public transport strategy for Lennox Point will ensure access to high frequency public transport to connect the development with the rest of Portsmouth and beyond.
Initially it is proposed that the Park and Ride services will be extended to connect with the site providing connections into the city centre. In the longer term the interchange will act as a node on the South East Hampshire Rapid Transport (SEHRT) network. A dedicated development based bus service will connect with local destinations as well as serving the site itself and timetabled services will also be diverted/extended to serve the site.
Whilst Lennox Point has first and foremost been designed to enable residents and users to travel by public transport, walking and cycling, it is acknowledged that there will still be a need for some private motor vehicle travel to and from the site.As such, limited car parking will be provided on site for residents, shared with a car club within the podium and multi-storey car park.
Other users of the site will be able to use the neighbouring Park and Ride site for limited parking provision, whilst disabled parking will be provided on site, within the podium and multi-storey car park to ensure that Lennox Point is fully inclusive.
How will we access and exit Lennox Point?
If arriving by vehicle (bus or car), the M275 junction will be re-modelled to provide access to Lennox Point.The proposals for the junction will also see improvements for pedestrians and cyclists to reduce severance and better integrate the site with existing local communities, amenities and enhance the existing pedestrian and cycle infrastructure to the east of the motorway.
The M275 junction itself will be converted into a series of traffic signal junctions to facilitate access and improve priority for pedestrians and cyclists.
Environment
How eco-friendly will this development be?
The development is designed to put people first and as part of that philosophy it is essential to look after the natural environment in which Lennox Point sits, to protect it for future generations. Therefore, the development will be designed for the residents to have a low (net zero) carbon and sustainable lifestyle minimising the water consumed and the waste produced.
Water use will be minimised through the use of efficient fixtures and fittings combined with grey water recycling and/or rainwater harvesting.
Waste will be separated at source and taken to local neighbourhood waste collection before being transported to a central onsite compaction facility.
Explore the plans in detail
The map below shows what could be developed on the site at Tipner West, but should not be seen as an exact representation of what is being proposed.
Click on different sections of the map to see the area in more detail.
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