Overnight parking for residents at new John Jenkins Stadium kept after developers “changed their mind”

Portsmouth City Council approved the stadium at the Moneyfields FC site in 2019. During construction, the sports facilities were donated to the ‘Pompey in the Community’ (PITC) charity, which accepted the original planning conditions. One condition was to create an overnight parking scheme for residents, but PITC has now deemed it financially unviable. PITC applied to replace the scheme with a “parking management plan”—which may or may not provide overnight parking for residents.

Speaking on behalf of PITC, planning agent Susan Leeson described the original condition as “unreasonable” and not meeting the necessary criteria. She added that since the public has been unable to park on the site for the past five years during construction, local residents won’t be “disadvantaged in any way if this condition is amended.”

Ms Leeson argued that the car park’s inaccessibility to locals on Friday and Saturday evenings, for club fixtures, limits any “perceived benefit” the scheme might offer. In response, local ward councillor Leonie Oliver said: “I live in Baffins and struggle to park on a daily basis.”

Cllr Oliver expressed frustration that it “feels like [PITC] can just change their mind” on the original condition and questioned the charity’s claimed financial strain, adding: “I do think they’re calling our bluff a bit—let’s just see.”

She highlighted that parking is “a huge issue” in the area, with residents sometimes having to park up to six or seven streets away from their homes. She also mentioned being in contact with someone associated with Fareham Football Club who has “offered to take on the whole project” to adhere to the original planning consent.

Cllr Hugh Mason, a planning committee member, proposed accepting changes to other conditions but insisted on “no modification” to the overnight parking scheme. The motion was approved with six votes in favour.