The Portsmouth Society - News
| News | Northern Quarter development | |
| Earlier news | An outline application for the development known as City Centre North, which includes the site of the Tricorn plus part of the northern section of Commercial Road, will be considered by the Development Control Committee on 19th October. The scheme which is to be recommended by the Head of Planning has been devised by the City Planning Department in collaboration with the developers, Centros Miller. This very large cleared area is a wonderful opportunity to create a spacious, dignified and well designed new quarter of the city centre. Unfortunately, with these proposals we are offered instead a hefty over over-development that does not give us the things people want. We shall object to the application and make a deputation to the Committee. The main points of our objection are these: 1. The lack of any kind of cultural centre. There is nothing to draw people to the centre once the shops are shut 2. The proposed destruction of the small park adjoining St Agatha's Church with no room to replace it. 3. There is a view of St Agatha's down one of the proposed new streets but the view down the other is wantonly cut off by one of the large new buildings proposed. The developers have said that this is only an outline application and that that sort of detail can be rectified later. But the siting of the new buildings is obviously a deliberate and not easily remediable feature of the plan. 4. There would appear to be a danger of traffic queuing to access the new car park backing up to obstruct the through route to the south, as this scheme lacks the safeguard that exists for the Cascades car park at present (but will be erased) whereby queues if they occur are in Cascades Approach where they do no harm; they do not obstruct anything else. On the main out-of-city route, there are to be no less than four extra sets of traffic lights between the Unicorn Road junction and the beginning of the M275. The developers claim this will not cause extra delays. We remain to be convinced. Not only is access to the redeveloped area from the south difficult for shoppers and for supply vans and lorries, but it looks as if queues are likely to develop for the car parks with tailbacks into the main roads. Only a single access ramp to a car park for 2000 cars would repeat the problems experienced at peak times at Gunwharf. There is no equivalent in the scheme of the Cascades Approach (to be eliminated in the new scheme) which absorbs any queues for the Cascades carpark. 5. But perhaps the most important is that the so-called consultation has turned out to be grossly incomplete. It is true that a majority of those who replied to the questionnaire ticked the box that expressed general satisfaction with the scheme. But a substantial number of these and others expressed a specific wish for a particular facility or service to be included in the plans. Among them were the following:
Open space.We feel that too many buildings are to be crammed onto the site, all but excluding any public open space. We would like to see open spaces in the heart of the scheme or enhancement of the existing green areas around St. Agatha's Church. Effects on existing centres. While we welcome the proposed 'layering' of commercial premises and flats above the shops (an echo of the Tricorn), the new canyon-like streets seem likely to offer as boring a vista as many rejected 60s and 70s high streets. We are not convinced that the 80 new shops proposed will not have damaging effects on Portsmouth's existing centres, including the adjoining Commercial Road as well as Southsea and even Gunwharf Quays. We have asked an expert on this subject who has advised us in the past to look into this. In justification the developers have lifted a phrase from the South East Plan. It is alleged that at present 'Portsmouth is punching below its weight'. What does this mean?. When shoppers can choose between so many similar areas with the same retail chains, those with distinctive character will stand out. and there is the question of whether the rents will be low enough for any independent retailers or any new enterprises? The proposed hotel.We believe that the hotel is badly placed facing large roads, which will make the foyer and lower floors unpleasant and noisy. Gymnastics Centre.The road proposals also destroy Pitt Street Baths, the 1903 former Royal Naval School of Physical Training, which has been considered for listing several times, but rejected because of potential road schemes. It provides a Regional Centre for Gymnastic Excellence with facilities particularly for trampolining found nowhere else in the south east. Under the proposals the facilities are to be banished to the Mountbatten Centre, two miles northwards, well out of the city centre, and not well served by public transport, particularly in the evening – as local young people pointed out to us. Public inquiry.We have had discussions with the developers and the City Planning Officer; but answers have not been satisfactory, so we have written to the minister requesting that the application is called-in so that the drawbacks of the scheme can be fully explored at a public inquiry before an independent inspector. Our grounds are that Portsmouth City Council is acting as judge in its own case. It is already the ground landlord. Roger James |