Coastal 'new town' plan scrapped

The Fawley Waterside development was to have included a canal and 330ft (100m) tower

Plans to build a new town on the site of a former power station on the Hampshire coast have been scrapped.

The £1bn Fawley Waterside scheme, submitted in 2019, was to incorporate 1,500 homes and potentially create 2,000 jobs.

In a statement, developers said the plans for the land between the New Forest and Southampton Water were "not viable".

New Forest District Council said it welcomed "clarity" over the site.

Fawley Waterside Ltd bought the 300-acre site for £25m in 2015.

The proposed development included 1,500 homes as well as a canal and 2,500-space car park in the basement of the former power station.

Its website promised "a vibrant coastal town with its own marina, enabling the ultimate luxury of a live-work location".

There was also a 330ft (100m) tower, commercial premises, public open space and flood defences included in the initial planning application in 2019.

The statement from the developer confirmed the planning applications were being formally withdrawn and that "a new future for the site will need to be determined".

"The decision to withdraw the applications has not been taken lightly but multiple assessments of the current scheme have shown that it is not viable," it said.

Plans for the housing scheme were formally withdrawn by Fawley Waterside

The scheme received planning permission, subject to conditions, in 2020 .

New Forest District Council leader Jill Cleary said: "We look forward to working with Fawley Waterside, and their newly appointed team, to consider viable alternative development options for the site

"It is timely for us all to be able to consider how best this site can help to deliver benefits to the New Forest community, economy and environment".

Leader of the Lib Dem opposition group on the council, Malcolm Wade, raised concerns about the loss of the affordable housing included in the plan.

"This was a golden opportunity, now snatched away, to provide much needed housing stock to alleviate our significant housing challenges right across the district," he added.

"What concerns local people now is the prolonged delay whilst discussions over the use and future development of the site takes place."

The oil-fired Fawley Power Station was decommissioned in 2013 after operating for more than 40 years.

It landmark 164m (680ft) chimney was demolished in 2021 and the clearance of the site's buildings was completed two years later.