The six townhouses planned to replace the collapsed Sackville Hotel on Hove seafront have been rejected by councillors.
The terrace of five houses in Kingsway – five storeys high plus basement – met criticism for being a pastiche of Regency architecture.
The sixth house had been planned to face out into Sackville Gardens.
At a meeting of Brighton and Hove City Council Planning Committee yesterday (Wednesday 20 July) the architect Alan Phillips defended his design.
He said: “It’s not meant to mimic Regency architecture. It’s Neo-Classicism or Classic Revivalism.”
Robert Nemeth was one of the objectors to the scheme and he spoke at the meeting at Hove Town Hall yesterday afternoon.
He called for a scheme that was designed to reflect the best of today’s architectural styles rather than to be given a fake Regency façade.
Conservative councillor Brian Oxley, who represents Westbourne, the ward that includes the site, carefully reflected neighbours’ views for and against the proposal.
He said: “If we visited Sackville Gardens now we would still see the odd sign urging the return of the Sackville Hotel.
“A few years ago many homes in the road had those signs in their windows.
“Sadly the return of the hotel is not a possibility but I don’t want the committee to underestimate the strength of feeling there is about this site and the genuine wish of residents to see its derelict status reversed.”
Councillor Lynda Hyde, a fellow Conservative, said: “What we’ve had here is a hole in the ground and we’ve had a hole in the ground for five years.
“I understand that there are mixed views among neighbours.
“This has got to be better than a hole in the ground and many of those sixties and seventies blocks of flats on the seafront.
“If we don’t accept this, are we going to have a hole in the ground for another five years?
“I will be supporting this application. I think it’s great.”
The plans, submitted by businessmen Robert Webb, 63, and Michael Deol, 41, who also own the Revenge nightclub in Brighton, failed to win enough support.
The committee voted 8-4 against planning permission.
Their reasons included the following
- The proposal fails to preserve the specific architectural appearance and character of the Sackville Gardens Conservation Area
- The height and scale of the proposals are not in keeping with neighbouring properties
- The density is not enough
