Portsmouth City Council plans thousands of homes on Tricorn site

Councillor Steve Pitt said the plan "marks an exciting milestone in the revitalisation of the city centre"

A council has introduced proposals for thousands of homes in a city centre.

Portsmouth City Council submitted plans to build 2,300 homes between Hope Street, Charlotte Street and Commercial Road, including at the former Tricorn and Sainsbury's sites.

Of these homes, the majority would be two-bedroom and a third of the total built would be affordable housing.

The plans also included up to 10,000sq m (107,639 sq ft) of community and commercial floorspace, and a new park.

The site was previously earmarked for the Northern Quarter development of shops and leisure facilities, which was dropped in 2016.

Those plans were first mooted in 2004 when the Tricorn Centre - once voted Britain's ugliest building - was demolished.

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

Local councillor Steve Pitt said the new plan "marks an exciting milestone in the revitalisation of the city centre".

"This is a long-term project so the flexibility of this planning application means we can adapt the plans over time to reflect the city's changing needs, new ideas and technologies," he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

If planning permission is granted, it could take 15 years to complete the entire project

If planning permission is granted, work could start as soon as 2024 and it would take about 15 years to complete the entire project.

A series of public consultation events are scheduled to take place and a decision should be reached on 13 December.