7,000 Signatures, We Did It: Public Consultation Confirmed Before Petition Hand-In. WHATS NEXT?
Hello everyone,
First point of order: we have now passed 7,000 signatures! Thank you so much to every single one of you who has signed, shared, and raised your voice on social media.
We have some brilliant news to share following the Portsmouth City Council Cabinet Member meeting on Thursday 23rd July 2026. The council and Cabinet Member Councillor Lee Hunt have brought forward a formal public consultation regarding the use of seafront spaces, including Southsea Common and Canoe Lake, even before our petition has been formally handed in.
This proactive step by the council really works in everyone's favour. It makes the entire process far smoother for the community and gives us a direct, official route to share our views. It also recognises the tireless efforts of local resident groups who have campaigned on this for years, alongside the massive groundswell of support across social media and our petition.
Why Turning Our Signatures Into Consultation Responses Is Essential
While our petition showed the undeniable strength of public feeling, the council cannot legally rely on a petition hosted on an outside platform to make final policy decisions. Third-party petition websites do not verify local residency in the same way, so the council requires formal feedback through their own official system.
Because the council has opened this consultation, we can now easily transfer the energy and numbers of our 7,000+ supporters straight into their official process. For our collective voice to carry full weight in the final decision, we need to turn our 7,000 petition signatures into 7,000 official consultation submissions.
What Happens Next
As soon as the official consultation goes live and the link is published by the council, Protect Our Parks Portsmouth will share it directly with all of you. We urge everyone to take a few moments to fill it in so we can ensure our shared parks, streets, and historic sites are properly looked after for the future.
Thank you again for standing up for Portsmouth. Keep an eye out for our next update as soon as the consultation link is live!
Warm regards,
Protect Our Parks Portsmouth