Land deal revives major Portsmouth development, council says

The former Tricorn Centre area of Portsmouth was due to be regenerated with shops, a leisure hub and housing

A plan for shops and thousands of new homes has been revived after Portsmouth council agreed to purchase the land, the authority's leader has said.

The development, north of the city centre, has stalled since 2005 after a series of failed deals.

Portsmouth City Council will buy the site from the former prospective developers and other landowners, leader Gerald Vernon-Jackson said.

He said prices had been agreed with developers Centros and Delancey.

The remaining land will be valued by an independent tribunal and compulsorily purchased, he added.

The Tricorn Centre was once described by Prince Charles as a "mildewed lump of elephant droppings"

Mr Vernon-Jackson said the deals, for undisclosed sums, offered a "real prospect of regeneration".

The Liberal Democrat said: "It means for the first time in 15 years, all of the land will be owned by the council.

"We've had no development and we should have done. A big lump of the city centre is derelict."

Plans for the area have been discussed since 2004 when the Tricorn shopping centre - once described by Prince Charles as a "mildewed lump of elephant droppings" - was demolished.

A Centros scheme was abandoned in 2016 while the council's partnership with Delancey ended in February.

Most of the development area is now a surface car park

Mr Vernon-Jackson said the city council might decide to develop the area itself without a commercial partner.

He said: "What I don't want is to be held to ransom any more. I'm really pleased we have control over our fate."

Schemes for the area have been known by several names including the Northern Quarter, City Centre North and New Landport projects.

On Wednesday, the council voted to pause a separate housing scheme on land reclaimed from the sea at Tipner following opposition from environmentalists.