The Portsmouth Local Plan is the principal planning policy document for the city and replaces many existing policies. It sets out the housing, employment, and retail development the city needs over the next 15 years and where this should be. The Plan also sets out what infrastructure will be needed to enable this development to take place, together with how the city’s sensitive historic and natural environments will be protected.

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Yes we are. In order to keep our options open regarding how Cathedral House might be developed in the future, it was vital that we are part of the Portsmouth Local Plan. The Council is planning on publishing the updated Housing and Economic Land Availability Assessment (HELAA) in March/April 2022.

Portsmouth Cathedral has submitted Cathedral House as a potential site for development. Portsmouth City Council required us to indicate the scale of any potential development, which we suggested as being up to 8 additional residential flats within Cathedral House (in addition to the existing 4 flats).

No. We have not taken any decisions regarding the future use of Cathedral House. As described above, we want to engage with you, our neighbours, as well as the community groups and charities that use our space and the wider community of Old Portsmouth to hear your thoughts, concerns and ideas at an early stage in our planning. We also need to undertake a feasibility study to look at what is practically possible.

Inclusion in the Portsmouth Local Plan does not obligate us to develop Cathedral House, but it does mean that any potential future developments will be more closely aligned with the wider City vision for homes, jobs, community spaces and green spaces. We had to be included in the Plan before the consultation period closed in early 2022.

We have not made any decisions about what type of potential developments might be proposed as we first need to conduct feasibility studies to determine what would be the best use for the spaces, and seek ideas and suggestions from the community and other stakeholders.

Yes, Cathedral House is within a conservation area and as such we will be ensuring that all planning applications and obligations are met for any potential developments. We are also keen to ensure that any potential developments are sympathetic both to the building itself and the local area.

The Cathedral team moved into Cathedral House in 2006 and extensive work was done to review the space and ensure it was configured for the cathedral’s needs at the time. The community space, Becket Hall, has been in its current form in one way or the other since the early 1960s. Therefore, it is well overdue that we review how we use the spaces and ensure they fully benefit both the community and the Cathedral.

We are also looking at ways to better support the Cathedral financially, ensuring there is continued income revenue streams from more commercial options. This will allow us not to have to rely on reserves or legacy pledges for the day-to-day running and upkeep of our Cathedral and the costs of our community outreach. This is a key aspect of our Cathedral Vision statement.

Our new Cathedral Vision lays out a number of objectives across various areas of Cathedral life as we look towards our 2027 centenary. These areas include ‘Diocese and Community’ and ‘Partnership and Engagement’, two key areas where this project will work towards us fulfilling our objectives. You can learn more about our Cathedral Vision here.

At present we are primarily looking at how we can better use the spaces in Cathedral House. We are also looking at improving public green spaces such as the Cathedral’s lawn areas, which are not a part of this project for Cathedral House.

Portsmouth Cathedral be working with Tricolor, specialist heritage consultants whom the Cathedral have been working with over the past 18 months on audience development projects and business planning. Tricolor have previously worked locally with Newport Minster on the Isle of Wight, as well as with other Cathedrals including Durham, Truro, and Canterbury.

We will be consulting directly with our current users of Becket Hall, to discuss in more depth their specific needs and requirements. There is no plan to remove community spaces from Cathedral House, with the core aim of the project to ensure the spaces work more efficiently for current and new users.

In common with all English Cathedrals, Portsmouth Cathedral is regulated by Statute. From next year we will come under the Cathedrals Measure 2021, which replaces the Cathedrals Measure 1999. Decisions on projects such as this will be made by Chapter, our governing body. Chapter is currently comprised of 11 members, including two who are elected, who bring a range of skills and backgrounds. Any Chapter decisions on this potential development will consider the needs of our local community, and your comments and feedback, as an important factor.