®Planning appeal decision
246 Havant Road, Portsmouth, PO6 1PA
Planning appeal 6001588 at 246 Havant Road, Portsmouth, PO6 1PA (Portsmouth City Council) was allowed on 2 April 2026 by Inspector Kent R, by written representations. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: whether the proposed development makes suitable provision for car parking with regard to the effect on the living conditions of occupiers of nearby dwellings.
Change of use of part ground floor and upper floor, from commercial (Class E), to eight bedroom house in multiple occupation (Sui generis); to include retention of ground floor commercial unit (Class E), installation of new shopfront including residential and commercial access doors, construction of Mansard roof extension, rear terrace at ground floor level, and associated bicycle and refuse storage
- Authority
- Portsmouth City Council
- Appeal type
- minor · Planning Appeal
- Procedure
- Written Representations
- Development
- residential · Change of use
- Inspector
- Kent R
- Postcode
- PO6 1PA
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- whether the proposed development makes suitable provision for car parking with regard to the effect on the living conditions of occupiers of nearby dwellings
- whether the proposal would provide acceptable living conditions for future occupiers of the room identified as 'bedroom 1' with regard to access and layout
- whether the proposal is in a suitable location having regard to the development plan policies for development within the Havant Road local centre
- the effect of the development on the Chichester and Langston Harbours SPA, the Portsmouth Harbour SPA and the Solent and Southampton Water SPA and on the Solent and Isle of Wight Lagoons SAC and the Solent Maritime SAC
What decided it
The shortfall in the Council's housing land supply (4.97 years) triggered the presumption in favour of sustainable development, and the substantial benefits of providing 8 residential units in a sustainable location outweighed the limited harm to policy PCS18 regarding local centre vitality.
The limited adverse impact on the local centre policy (PCS18) was substantially outweighed by the benefits of housing delivery in a sustainable location and the shortfall in the Council's housing land supply, applying the presumption in favour of sustainable development under paragraph 11(d) of the Framework.
What the Inspector cited
- Development plan policies
- Policy PCS17Policy PCS18Policy PCS23Policy PCS13
- National Planning Policy Framework
- Paragraph 11Paragraph 232
How the Inspector dealt with each one is set out in the app, in order: the development plan, national policy, housing land supply, other considerations and the planning balance, beside the letter.
See how each was appliedThe decision letter
Town Planner Pro holds this letter. The Appeals plan opens it and every other letter we hold, all of them searchable, with the main issues and what decided each case picked out. We do not show letters on the free site because they carry people’s names and addresses.
With an account
What an account adds to this decision
More decisions in Portsmouth City Council
The authority’s record since 2016 · every decision in 2026
- Allowed20 October 202660129123 Lawson Road, Southsea, Portsmouth, PO5 1SD
- Allowed22 September 20266004676252 Havant Road, Portsmouth, PO6 1PA
- Dismissed14 July 2026600776134 Clarendon Road, Southsea, PO5 2JY
- Allowed2 June 2026600466616 Munster Road, Portsmouth, PO2 9BS
- Dismissed1 May 20266004817136-138 Stamshaw Road, Portsmouth, PO2 8LX
The main issues, what decided it, the planning balance and the policies and judgments listed as cited are read from the published letter by Town Planner Pro and are our summary, not the Inspector’s words; the letter itself is the record. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Research, not advice.