Portsmouth City Council has selected ECF as preferred partner for City Centre North, marking an important step forward for one of the largest regeneration opportunities on the south coast.
City Centre North covers 13.25-hectares of brownfield land in the heart of the city. The area has the potential to deliver up to 2,300 new homes, helping meet growing demand for high-quality homes in the city centre across a mix of tenures to support a diverse and inclusive community.
The plans will also include workspace, leisure uses and over 240,000 sq ft of new public spaces, including a significant urban park. Better connections through the area will improve access to the city centre and surrounding neighbourhoods, helping support footfall. This will play a key role in creating a thriving economy by delivering a mix of uses that attracts visitors, supports local businesses and encourages people to spend more time in the area.
City Centre North is an important part of Portsmouth’s wider growth ambitions, and sits alongside a broader programme of investment into the city, including the creation of the new Portsmouth Business Improvement District.
ECF is a partnership between Homes England’s National Housing Bank, L&G and Muse. For almost 25 years, ECF has worked alongside local authorities to unlock and sustain complex regeneration projects across England. By combining public sector alignment, long-term investment stewardship and development delivery expertise within a single integrated structure, ECF helps bring forward regeneration that creates lasting social, economic and environmental value.
ECF’s growing portfolio of major regeneration projects includes Manor Road Quarter in Canning Town, Stockport 8 in Stockport, Bradford City Village in Bradford, Smithgate in Wolverhampton, Greyfriars in Northampton and Station Gateway in Stevenage. ECF has a long-term strategic target to deliver 17,000 new homes and more than 1m sq ft of commercial space by 2036.
ir Michael Lyons, Chairman of ECF, said:
“City Centre North is one of the most significant regeneration opportunities on the south coast. It has the potential to deliver essential new homes, public space, jobs and connectivity in the heart of Portsmouth, supporting the Council’s wider ambitions for the city.
ECF has spent more than two decades turning complex, high-potential areas into thriving places, and we are building a growing pipeline of partnerships across the South that reflects exactly this kind of ambition. Portsmouth’s waterfront setting, connectivity and clear ambition make this an exciting place for the partnership.
We’re looking forward to working with Portsmouth City Council over the coming months to explore the site in detail, test what’s deliverable here, and build the case for how we might take this forward together. I’m certain that, done well, City Centre North will be recognised for years to come as a benchmark for what can be achieved through ambitious, locally-led regeneration.”
Councillor Steve Pitt, Leader of Portsmouth City Council, said:
“It’s fair to say that bringing forward plans for City Centre North has taken longer than anyone would have hoped, but Portsmouth has changed significantly during that time, and so have people’s expectations of what they want from their city centre. The way we shop, work and spend our leisure time has evolved, giving us the opportunity to create something that is better suited to the city’s future needs.
“This partnership is an important next step in making sure we get the development right. By working with ECF, we can thoroughly test the options, build a strong evidence base and explore the best way to bring these plans forward. We have a real opportunity to create a thriving new neighbourhood with much-needed homes, quality public spaces and opportunities for local businesses, while improving connections between the city centre and waterfront. Our focus is on creating something that will benefit Portsmouth for decades to come.”
Following the signing of the Development and Masterplanning Services Agreement (DMSA), ECF and Portsmouth City Council will work together over the coming months to explore development options and test viability. Subject to the outcome of this work, the partnership would then progress to a Development Agreement (DA), which would formalise the delivery of City Centre North.
