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Tipner West: 'Foolhardy' decisions over peninsula revamp, wildlife charity says

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust TipnerHampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust
A previous petition against plans for the site, by the wildlife trust and RSPB, garnered 25,000 signatures

A council has made "foolhardy" decisions over the delayed revamp of a peninsula, a nature charity has said.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust criticised Portsmouth City Council's plans to build on the reclaimed land from the harbour.

Tipner West is a special protection area (SPA) for birds and a site of special scientific interest (SSSI).

The council blamed the charity for delaying the scheme which also includes new sea defences that would protect it.

A petition by the wildlife trust and RSPB garnered 25,000 signatures, prompting the council to abandon its original £1bn "super peninsula" that would have seen up to 4,000 homes built on the site.

Revised plans propose up to 1,250 homes and at least 58,000sqm (620,000sqft) of employment space.

Describing current sea defences at Stamshaw and Tipner as being "in a shoddy state of repair", Councillor Lee Hunt, member for resources, told a cabinet meeting new ones could not be built independently of the housing and employment space.

Getty Images Brent gooseGetty Images
Tipner West is also a Ramsar site for wetlands and species there include Brent geese (pictured), dunlin and black-tailed godwit wading birds, and bass

"I'm not taking a swipe at [the trust] but they really need to understand that we need to get on with this because if we don't the sea is going to come in and sweep over the land anyway, and they're going to lose the very thing that they say they're fighting for," he said.

In response, the trust said it had not been wildlife charities that had delayed the progress but instead the council's "foolhardy decisions to pursue a development which crosses legal red lines for nature". 

It continued: "While we agree with the need to upgrade the existing flood defences across much of Tipner to safeguard people's homes, it is a false narrative to state that these defences are needed for the protected sites for wildlife. 

"The council's own flood risk modelling shows that the terrestrial SPA/Ramsar, which we are fighting to protect, will be the only part of Tipner West not underwater in 2125."

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