Portsmouth park and ride expansion plans approved

Portsmouth City Council hopes the new facility would reduce the number of car journeys into the centre of the city

Plans to expand a Portsmouth park and ride have been approved.

A nine-storey transport hub will be built on the site of the existing park and ride at Tipner.

The scheme will see the number of car parking spaces increase from 650 to 2,650, alongside increased bus provision and bike and e-scooter hire.

The plans, which were amended to reduce the height of the structure by between three and six metres, were approved by Portsmouth City Council.

The decision comes after initial proposals for the site were refused last year, when the development was branded "ugly and huge".

Lynne Stagg, cabinet member for transport, said the facility would reduce congestion and air pollution.

She said she hoped it would also house a transfer service for couriers, allowing larger lorries to drop off packages to be delivered into the city by electric vans and cargo bikes.

The scheme would see the number of car parking spaces increase from 650 to 2,650

Detailed plans are expected to be published in September.

But both the University of Portsmouth and Portsmouth International Port have already backed the scheme.

The port has forecast it could need as many as 1,000 extra spaces within the next few years, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The park and ride service began operating at Tipner in 2014, with plans for its upgrade announced last year.

Some councillors expressed reservations about the revised scheme, saying it was "not perfect", but they said their concerns could be resolved when the final design details are submitted later this year.