The delay in the regeneration of Portsmouth has been blamed on the stalled construction of the Northern Quarter project.

Since recession hit in 2008 the £500m shopping, housing and business project has been repeatedly put on hold, delaying the overall renewal of the area.

Described by the city council as ‘one of the principal development opportunity sites within the city centre’, this integral project is being blamed for bringing the much needed regeneration of the city to a grinding halt. The council has reassured those in doubt that it is still in regular contact with developer Centros and construction is set to begin before the end of 2015.

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Leader of the council’s Conservative opposition, Simon Bosher, said the process had dragged its heels for too long:

"This really is the lynchpin of the entire regeneration…And we are stuck with a developer that keeps chopping and changing its mind."

Mr Boscher's concerns come after the local authority agreed earlier this year, to allow an extra 12 to 21 months if necessary, potentially delaying the start of work until 2017.

In an attempt to allay concerns, Deputy leader of the council and cabinet member for finance, Cllr Hugh Mason, said he expects work to begin on time:

"Really we are still very upbeat about this and so are Centros…We have regular meetings with them and we certainly appear to be on track."

The development will see the construction of around 50,000sq m of new shopping floorspace with links to Cascades, Commercial Road and Market Way. The masterplan will be voted on by a special meeting of the council's cabinet today in the Guildhall's executive meeting room at midday.

(Hmc)