We are delighted to announce that in consultation with local residents, Tipner West has been renamed as Lennox Point.
Residents in focus groups were involved in choosing the name after Charles Lennox, Master General of the Board of Ordnance, who pioneered the earliest version of the Ordnance Survey and was responsible for the fortification and protection of the south coast.
Our planned marine employment hub, which will form part of Lennox Point, has also been named. This will be called Phoenix Quay, after HMS Phoenix, the Royal Navy's firefighting and damage repair training establishment, based at Tipner between 1946 and 1993.
To accompany the name change, we've launched a new website
Since we last emailed in October 2020, with confirmation that Cabinet Members at Portsmouth City Council had approved work that needs to be undertaken in order to submit a planning application (expected 2022), lots has been happening behind the scenes. This includes:
- Transfer of the land previously used as firing range and owned by the Ministry of Defence, from the MOD to Portsmouth City Council
- Appointment of marine company, Fugro Geoservices Ltd, and WSP, who will begin the Marine Ground Investigation works at Lennox Point, to investigate the seabed soil and quantify ground conditions near the site
- Establishment of a new bi-monthly Regulatory Board made up of statutory stakeholders and other key stakeholders, who will challenge the development of Lennox Point within a structured, formal and legal framework
- Establishment of a Sustainability Review Panel, to ensure sustainability is embedded in every element of the project
- Work with Engineering students at the University of Portsmouth who are developing initial design ideas for a connecting bridge from Lennox Point to Horsea Island East
- Work with Portsmouth UTC (University Technical College) to create short question and answer videos with their students for social media
- Work with local artists on the continued development of the Lennox Point branding
- Development of the Design Principles for the masterplan, and the measures against them
- Continual revision to the masterplan following feedback from city-wide public roadshows last year
Environmental concerns
We know there are some environmental concerns about developing Lennox Point on a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSI), a Special Protection Area (SPA) and a Ramsar site, and are following stringent process to ensure any environmental impacts can be mitigated appropriately.
We are liaising closely with our statutory stakeholders, including Natural England and The Environment Agency, and other key stakeholders to keep everyone informed and up to date with our proposals. The site is subject to environmental protections and the Habitats Regulation Assessment and there is a sequential test we will have to go through in order to develop on the site. It is critical that we adhere to that, and the site is treated with the respect that it deserves. The development will only happen if statutory stakeholders are satisfied.
From this week, you may notice some activity in Tipner Lake and the Lennox Point site.
This is part of our Marine Ground Investigation works to investigate the sea bed soil and level of contamination near the site. The full programme of works will take around 12-14 weeks, until July 2021.
What you might see:
- From 13 March - drones flying above the site and a boat in the waters
- From 1 April - a jack up rig (see photograph on technical note) and tow boat
- Throughout - officers in high-visibility PPE on the site and on the boats
What the work will help us to do:
- The drone and boat will identify any obstructions or hazards on the sea bed
- From the jack up rig, a hole will be drilled into the sea bed to recover soil samples and rock cores - this will help us to assess the level of contamination near the site. There are 39 locations for the rig to mobilise and holes to be drilled.
This month, we'll also be undertaking biodiversity assessments on the geographical sites of Tipner West and Horsea Island Country Park, continuing work on the Environmental Impact Assessment, continuing the development of the masterplan - with input from our team of architects, marine experts, transport planners, structural engineers and ecologists, and will be engaging with more industry partners and suppliers.
 In summer 2021, we will run a public consultation on Lennox Point through the city's Local Plan consultation. The Local Plan provides policies for the development and protection of land and site allocations for new developments, such as Lennox Point, or re-development of existing buildings. It helps to facilitate the necessary support required for the proposed growth of the city until 2038.
Areas to be consulted on during the Local Plan consultation in summer include the reclamation of land at Tipner West. Feedback from the Local Plan consultation will be fed into the masterplan for Lennox Point, which will then put to public consultation in autumn 2021.
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