By Jenni Davidson
Plans for a new building for Brighton, Hove and Sussex VI Form College (BHASVIC) on Dyke Road in Hove have been rejected.
The college had applied to construct a new building on the car park between the main building and College House on the Dyke Road side of the campus.
The plan was for a modern, glazed three storey building with blue and green coloured panels.
BHASVIC currently has over 2,000 students and the new building would add 12 more classrooms with the capacity for another 288 students.
Councillors voted seven to four against the plans at a meeting of Brighton and Hove City Council’s planning committee yesterday (Wednesday 9 October).
Several councillors expressed concerns about the choice of colours, how close to the road it would be and the visual impact it would have on the red brick buildings to either side.
Councillor Lynda Hyde described the proposed structure as “obtrusive” and “out of character” while Councillor Carol Theobald said she felt the design was “terrible”.
Councillor Alan Robins said: “It looks like it is permanently covered in scaffolding.”
Other councillors were more supportive. Councillor Sue Shanks suggested the building would be an improvement on the current car park and would remove the problem of cars turning into the car park from Dyke Road.
Councillors stressed that in rejecting the proposal they were not against a new addition to BHASVIC on that site, but only the proposed design.
Councillor Leo Littman referred to the design as an “opportunity missed for a terrific addition to the BHASVIC site”.
Councillor Mike Jones said: “I hope that the design team can come back with a design for a good modern building that reflects the colour palette of the buildings around it.”
