City Centre North is Portsmouth City Council's long-term plan to turn the former Tricorn and Sainsbury's sites into a greener mixed-use quarter. The masterplan has capacity for up to 2,300 homes, commercial and community floorspace, and a large connected public park, but delivery has not yet reached main construction. The council is selecting a master developer and preparing the agreements, surveys, funding case and infrastructure work needed to move from an extant consent to phased delivery.
The site covers about 13.25 hectares immediately north of Commercial Road. It includes land around Market Way, Charlotte Street, Hope Street and the former Tricorn Centre, with connections towards St Agatha's Church, All Saints Church and surrounding neighbourhoods. The official project page presents the scheme as a new northern gateway to the centre rather than a single building project.
Project facts
| Field | Evidence-backed position |
|---|---|
| Site | Approximately 13.25 hectares of predominantly brownfield land in Portsmouth city centre |
| Full masterplan capacity | Up to 2,300 homes and up to 10,000 square metres of non-residential floorspace |
| Green space and public realm | Approximately 22,400 square metres across the full masterplan |
| Detailed Phase 1 consent | 550 homes in two courtyard buildings, 164 square metres of flexible commercial space, landscaping and part of the park |
| Later outline capacity | Up to 1,800 further homes, mixed uses, public realm and strategic access |
| 2026 early delivery recommendation | A package of more than 900 homes, commercial space and green infrastructure; this is a delivery recommendation, not a new consented total |
| Planning reference | 22/01243/CS3, approved subject to the planning process in 2023 and described by later official material as an extant consent |
| Current phase | Master developer selection, agreement preparation, surveys and business-case work |
| Main delivery dependencies | Development agreements, funding, land assembly, reserved matters and City Centre Roads |
| Evidence cut-off | 20 July 2026 |
These figures describe different layers of the programme. The 550-home Phase 1 is the detailed element of the existing planning consent. The council's 2026 strategy recommends an early package of more than 900 homes. The 2,300-home figure is the maximum capacity across the entire flexible masterplan. Adding or substituting those numbers would overstate what is approved or ready to build.
What has planning consent
Application 22/01243/CS3 combines detailed permission for Phase 1 with outline permission for later phases. Portsmouth's Planning Committee supported the scheme in October 2023, subject to the planning conditions and legal process, and subsequent council and procurement documents describe the consent as extant.
The detailed first phase contains 550 homes in two courtyard buildings. The council's 2025 market-engagement notice records a 70:30 split between private-sale and affordable tenures. Within the affordable portion, the stated mix is 70:30 affordable rent to shared ownership. It also includes 164 square metres of flexible commercial or community floorspace, landscaping, access work and part of the new green space.
The later outline element allows capacity for up to 1,800 additional dwellings and 9,840 square metres of non-residential uses. Building positions, design, tenure, timing and other reserved matters would still need to be resolved through later applications and agreements. Planning capacity therefore does not mean that every home, shop or public-space element is funded or contracted.
The Phase 1 design team describes two perimeter blocks, homes ranging from studios to three bedrooms, private balconies or gardens, communal roof terraces and a landscaped car-free route between the buildings. These are approved design intentions; the eventual master developer may need to test delivery, viability and detailed implementation against the consent.
An illustrative view of the Charlotte Street edge of the masterplan. Final buildings, uses and phasing remain subject to delivery agreements and detailed approvals. Image source: Portsmouth City Centre.
Why the 2026 strategy refers to more than 900 early homes
Preliminary market engagement ran during 2025 to test developer interest, phasing, uses, infrastructure and possible partnership structures. The council reported positive interest and, in February 2026, authorised the next work needed to choose a master developer.
The February 2026 council update says early phases are expected to bring forward more than 900 homes. The supporting Cabinet report explains that this is the recommended delivery strategy produced after market testing. It is broader than the detailed 550-home Phase 1 and should not be presented as if the original consent had changed automatically.
The staged route gives the council several decision points. Officers were authorised to procure a master developer, prepare a Development Management Services Agreement, commission surveys and build the detailed business case. Entering the DMSA and, later, a full Development Agreement require further evidence and authority. The council expected to return to Cabinet in summer 2026, but no later public decision confirming that agreement or naming a selected master developer was located by the evidence cut-off.
A park-led masterplan
The public realm is central to the scheme rather than an incidental landscaping strip. The flexible masterplan provides approximately 22,400 square metres of green open space and public realm, including a large park intended to link St Agatha's Church with All Saints Church. New walking and cycling routes are intended to make the northern centre easier to cross and reconnect surrounding streets with Commercial Road.
The illustrative masterplan shows development plots arranged around the park and a network of paths. It is useful for understanding the spatial ambition, but it is not a construction phasing plan and does not confirm which plots will be delivered first.
The official illustrative masterplan identifies the proposed relationship between the green space, Commercial Road, Charlotte Street, Hope Street and the two churches. Plot layouts may change through detailed design. Image source: Portsmouth City Centre.
City Centre Roads is a major dependency
Phase 1 can be delivered on council-owned land without the full road reconfiguration, according to the market-engagement material. Later phases depend more heavily on City Centre Roads, a connected project intended to move through-traffic away from Market Way and Commercial Road and give greater priority to buses, walking and cycling.
The February 2026 Cabinet report says a Strategic Outline Business Case for the roads scheme was under Department for Transport review. It also records that affordability, buildability and the complete infrastructure requirement still needed further work. This creates an important distinction: road changes are part of the regeneration vision, but they did not yet have a confirmed construction programme in the published evidence.
Some nearby transport work has already happened. The council reported in September 2024 that crossing, junction and bus-priority improvements had been completed through a separate South East Hampshire Rapid Transit project. Those completed works should not be confused with the larger City Centre Roads reconfiguration needed for the masterplan.
Land, funding and delivery control
Portsmouth City Council owns the former Tricorn and Sainsbury's sites and had assembled approximately 64% of the wider red-line area when it published the 2025 engagement notice. About 36% remained in third-party ownership, including commercial and mixed-use properties. Negotiated acquisition was continuing under a December 2023 land strategy.
The February 2026 report records total approved City Centre North project funding of £20.85 million, with £18.22 million spent by 31 December 2025 on masterplanning, land acquisition, professional work, planning and related activity. Cabinet also authorised expenditure of up to £2.63 million for the next procurement, agreement, survey and business-case stage. These are project-development sums, not a funded budget for building the whole masterplan.
The report is direct about the remaining funding challenge. Further capital is likely to be needed for land, infrastructure and developer outputs, and large-scale external support had not been secured. Homes England is identified as a likely partner, but that is not the same as a confirmed award. The council's ownership position and staged agreements give it influence over delivery, while funding and third-party land remain material constraints.
Housing and local property context
City Centre North could introduce a large resident population into land that has long weakened the connection between the city centre and neighbourhoods to the north. A mix of private, affordable and potentially specialist housing was tested with the market, but only the Phase 1 tenure proportions are set out clearly in the extant detailed consent.
Any effect on nearby sales or rental demand remains qualitative. New homes, green space and better routes may change how the northern city centre is used, but the timing, tenure mix and scale depend on developer selection, funding, detailed approvals and construction. This report does not treat masterplan capacity as a forecast of supply or property performance.
Delivery risks and watchpoints
| Watchpoint | Why it matters | Evidence to look for next |
|---|---|---|
| Master developer appointment | No selected partner was publicly confirmed by the evidence cut-off | Procurement notice, council announcement or Cabinet paper naming the partner |
| DMSA and business case | The agreement is intended to fund and govern detailed development work, not the whole build | Cabinet authority to enter the DMSA and the approved business case |
| Full Development Agreement | This is the later commitment needed to set delivery obligations and control | A further Cabinet decision and signed agreement |
| City Centre Roads | Later phases depend on road, public-transport, walking and cycling changes | Department for Transport response, funding decision and approved delivery programme |
| Land assembly | More than one third of the 2025 red-line area remained outside council ownership | Acquisitions, negotiated agreements or any compulsory-purchase process |
| Funding | Current approvals mainly support development work rather than complete construction | Homes England or other funding awards and developer-finance commitments |
| Detailed planning | Much of the masterplan remains outline and flexible | Reserved-matters applications, conditions, design changes and discharge decisions |
| Programme dates | The tender notice's September 2026 to August 2036 dates were market-engagement estimates | Contract award dates and a developer-backed phasing programme |
The estimated ten-year contract period shown during market engagement should not be read as a confirmed September 2026 construction start. No authoritative source reviewed for this report confirms that main building work has begun.
Detailed project history
| Date | Milestone | What happened | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 January 2013 | City-centre planning framework adopted | Portsmouth adopted the City Centre Masterplan supplementary planning document, establishing the long-term policy context for change in the northern centre. | City Centre Masterplan |
| 5 October 2021 | Project delivery work authorised | Cabinet approved an earlier City Centre North work package covering delivery preparation, according to the later 2026 decision record. | February 2026 Cabinet report |
| 8 March 2022 | Regeneration work advanced | Cabinet gave a further project authorisation before the planning application was submitted. | February 2026 Cabinet report |
| August 2022 | Hybrid planning application submitted | Application 22/01243/CS3 sought detailed consent for the first 550 homes and outline consent for later phases. | Planning application 22/01243/CS3 |
| 25 October 2023 | Planning Committee supports the masterplan | Committee members resolved to approve the hybrid scheme subject to the remaining planning and legal process. | Planning approval announcement |
| December 2023 | Land acquisition strategy prepared | The council continued negotiating for third-party interests within the regeneration boundary. | Find a Tender project notice |
| 11 August 2025 | Developer market engagement begins | The council invited site-wide and specialist developers to test uses, phasing, infrastructure and partnership options. | Preliminary market engagement notice |
| September 2025 | Developer meetings held | One-to-one engagement tested market appetite and delivery options before the council selected a preferred route. | Updated engagement notice |
| October 2025 | Market engagement concludes | Mace Consult, Montagu Evans and Vail Williams completed the engagement and prepared recommendations for the council. | Council project update |
| 10 February 2026 | Master developer route approved | Cabinet authorised procurement, DMSA preparation, surveys and up to £2.63 million of next-stage expenditure. | Cabinet decision report |
Current assessment
City Centre North has an unusually clear strategic scale, a project-specific hybrid consent, substantial council land ownership and confirmed developer interest. Those features move it beyond an unfunded concept. The February 2026 decision also gives officers authority and budget to undertake the work required for a delivery partnership.
It is nevertheless still a pre-construction programme. The master developer has not been publicly named, the DMSA and full Development Agreement have not been confirmed, infrastructure and land costs remain unresolved, and no complete funding package or construction timetable is published. The next decisive evidence would be a named partner, Cabinet authority for the DMSA, a credible first-phase business case and a funded route for City Centre Roads.