Local Planning
Keeping an eye out for planned changes that might impact Port Solent and maintaining regular dialogue with Portsmouth City Council Planning are the two most important roles that RAPS fulfils. PCC usually notifies RAPS of such changes well in advance and encourages consultation. RAPS receives the PCC planning newsletters and monitors planning applications and the Your City Your Say website where consultations are posted.
Below you will find, in reverse date order, links to the most important PCC planning documents relevant to the Plan examination currently underway until December 2026.
Portsmouth Local Plan Examination Hearing Sessions (Autumn 2026)
The key submitted documents (KD) under examination are KD01, KD02 and KD03 and we now learn that the Inspectors will consider all relevant evidence submitted to the examination, including the Statement of Common Ground in respect of Port Solent and the proposed Main Modifications, where they relate to the matters being considered, and all other evidence submitted. These include a tall buildings study (added to the documentation in April 2026 but originally authored in 2009!), which introduces the prospect of an alternative Site B for a tall building at the south-eastern tip of Horsea Island. A bridge feasibility study was also published as long ago as 2010. Watch this space!
To keep up to date on progress of the Examination of the Portsmouth Local Plan, please refer to the Portsmouth Local Plan Examination website. Your attention is drawn to Matter 7 Questions 54-59 in the MIQ and to pages 38-9 (PLP 11) of PCC's answers to the Examiners' initial questions.
Also see various mentions of Port Solent in PCC's Infrastructure Delivery Plan (2025).
Face to face examination sessions start at the Guildhall on October 6th: the session dedicated to Port Solent is on October 22nd.
RAPS has notified the Inspectors of its intention to submit a Statement, the deadline being 9 am on Monday 21st September.
Relevant statements concerning Port Solent in the adjoining MIQ pdf are on page 2 (para 7) and pages 19-20 (para 54-59)
Port Solent development
The Statement of Common Ground (SCG) March 2026 for the Port Solent site outlines an agreed strategic direction between Portsmouth City Council (PCC), Premier Marinas, and CBRE Investment Management regarding the Portsmouth Pre-Submission Local Plan Addendum.
Status and timescale queried.
NB This a separate issue for RAPS although obviously connected to the Portsmouth Plan.
Design concept that appeared in the plans from around 2014 that were abandoned in 2018 but which show uncanny resemblance to the ground plan in the Illustrative Masterplan of 2025/6.
Portsmouth Plan addendum
Consultation November 2025-January 8 2026. RAPS submission re Port Solent.
Portsmouth Plan Examination
Submission consultation statement March 2026. Portsmouth City Council formally submitted its new Local Plan to the Planning Inspectorate for independent examination on March 18, 2026. RAPS (Representor 50226) may be called to give evidence to its submission (email from Kerry Trueman 23-04-26). Named PCC contacts: Nick Lloyd and Lucy Howard (Planning Policy Team) with whom regular meetings have been scheduled (next being September 16th 2026.
NB This section is largely superseded by Portsmouth Local Plan Examination Hearing Sessions above.
Neighbourhood plan
In Place of a Port Solent Neighbourhood Plan
Latest Information about the Country Park will appear here in due course. Obviously any previous announcement or estimate about an opening date pre-2022 is no longer valid. Meanwhile any issues concerning the Country Park can be raised initially with RAPS who may then raise them with PCC or with Veolia.
RAPS feedback report to Highways England 09-20