Commercial property experts at Vail Williams have been chosen to advise on a prestigious development proposal on Portsmouth’s waterfront and transform a run-down office building into stylish new homes, student accommodation and shops.
The major development on the Hard, near Gunwharf Quays Shopping Centre, has been submitted to the city council’s planners by Vail Williams on behalf of Bouygues Development Limited.
The scheme is to replace a derelict 13-storey vacant office building with a landmark 40-storey tower delivering 329 residential flats, accommodation for 512 students and 940 square metres of retail floorspace as a lively frontage onto the Hard.
The plans also contain proposals for Havant Street car park, currently a surface car park, to become multi-storey. The comprehensive regeneration potential of both sites has been highlighted previously by Portsmouth City Council’s planning guidance for the Hard.
Vail Williams associate David Ramsay said: “This is a significant proposal for Portsmouth’s famous waterfront, bringing investment and jobs. We’re committed to working with Portsmouth City Council and Bouygues Development, focusing our expertise on securing the very best development for the site and ultimately the city.
“This landmark building is one of a number of large sites we are working on as a team, using our regional presence, local knowledge and depth of market experience.”
For the submission, Vail Williams’ planning team has played a key role working with Bouygues Development in compiling and submitting the planning application following detailed pre-application discussions with Council officers.
The Vail William’s team will continue to provide planning advice and support during the determination period, monitoring the application’s progress and planning policy requirements.
