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History of the Tower

The Spinnaker Tower at Gunwharf Quays is the centrepiece of the Renaissance of Portsmouth Harbour Project and has become Portsmouth’s most prominent landmark, stretching 170m into the sky, providing spectacular views of Portsmouth Harbour and the Solent.

The Development Brief

In September 1995 the Millennium Commission approved in principle the submission made by the South East Hampshire Partnership for ‘The Renaissance of Portsmouth Harbour’, which proposed the Millennium Tower as its centrepiece. The City Council then published a development brief in November of the same year, setting out the broad requirements and inviting expressions of interest from consortia to design, build and operate the tower.
It was made clear that the tower should largely be an amenity to celebrate the new millennium, and as such could accommodate public facilities and some commercial uses, though not uses that significantly undermined the emphasis of the tower’s functions (such as office or hotel uses). The tower should also include an educational facility to complement the existing attractions of the historic dockyard.
No specific design was proposed, though some preliminary sketches and conceptual designs had been prepared. It was suggested that the viewing level of the tower should be at least 125m, and that the whole tower would need to set a standard of excellence in architectural engineering. Design would be one of the key considerations in the selection of the successful consortium.

Public Consultation

Hampshire based architects HGP Greentree Allchurch Evans and the German tower specialists Leonhardt Andra proposed three possible designs, the ‘Globe’, the ‘Spinnaker’ and the ‘Triple Tower’, which were put out to public consultation in February 1998. A special edition of “Flagship”, Portsmouth City Council’s magazine, as well as public exhibitions in Portsmouth and Gosport canvassed public opinion. The Spinnaker design, reflecting Portsmouth’s unique maritime heritage, was eventually selected, with almost 60% of nearly 13,000 people supporting this option.

Planning Applications

A planning application for the tower was submitted by HGP Greentree Allchurch Evans on behalf of Portsmouth City Council in the summer of 1998. The application sought permission for a public viewing tower, 165 metres in height with 3 upper viewing platforms at 100, 105 and 110 metres above the Solent. Access to the two enclosed and the one open deck would be via internal stairs and a panoramic lift, travelling up the side of one of the shafts. At the base of the tower, the application proposed a reception building providing ancillary interpretation space, entertainment and leisure uses, ticketing, plant, management and staff facilities on approximately 2270 m² over 5 floors. As an additional attraction, the proposal made provision for a 16 person drop ride operating down the side of one of the shafts from the upper viewing platform to the base building.
The application was accompanied by an environmental statement, which concluded that no environmental effects were envisaged, which could not be mitigated to an acceptable level. The officer’s report to committee pointed out that by far the most significant impact would be visual. The tower would not only be visible from the whole of Portsmouth, but also from the much wider area of Hampshire, West Sussex, the Isle of Wight and the Solent. However, as the tower was intended to be a feature of international significance and the proposal was in accordance with the height set out in the development brief, the visual impact was deemed entirely appropriate. The City Council Planning Committee resolved to grant conditional consent for the application on 15 September 1999.
A revised planning application was submitted on 16 February 2000 following the decision of full Council on 19th January 2000 to terminate negotiations with Portsmouth Spinnaker Tower Ltd. As the principle of the erection of the tower had already been established by the earlier consent, it was only the changes that needed to be considered.
The new proposal comprised an almost identical Spinnaker Tower on the same site, while deleting the drop ride and reducing the size of the base building from 5 to 2 storeys. The submitted floor plans indicated the ground floor (848m²) being used for circulation/ticketing and catering/retail with access to the stairs and lifts, and the first floor (313m²) being used for functions/catering/retail with external terracing. The Planning Committee approved this application on 10 April 2000.