Hard decisions will need to be made about how we squeeze in more homes, offices and other buildings in Brighton and Hove, business leaders were warned this evening (Thursday 30 June).
Officials are preparing to draw up part two of the City Plan – a strategic blueprint for the next 15 years. Part one was agreed in March after years of debate.
An initial discussion took place at the County Ground in Hove, organised by the Brighton and Hove Chamber of Commerce.
The discussion focused on five key areas
- Employment space
- Tourism, retail and culture
- Housing
- Students and education
- Smart and sustainable cities
Nick Hibberd and Liz Hobden from Brighton and Hove City Council helped set the scene and panellists included
- Town planning expert Kelvin MacDonald
- Brighton and Hove Business Forum managing director Tony Mernagh
- Former head of tourism Adam Bates, now associate director of Blue Sail
- Brighton University vice chancellor Debra Humphris
Part two of the City Plan will involve allocating specific uses for specific sites – and even at this evening’s event tough questions were asked about topics like student housing – for instance, should they be billeted together or dispersed throughout the area?
Next Wednesday (6 July) the Chamber of Commerce is hosting a Big Debate to discuss how to meet the demand for suitable work space. The event takes place at City College.
The anti-student attitude of BHCC is reprehensible. If they discriminated against protected minorities (LGBT, religious groups, ethnic groups) the way the discriminate against students and young professionals in this city there would be uproar. Since when has someone’s occupation dictated where they can and cannot live? Under no circumstances whatsoever is social and demographic engineering acceptable. It is a relic of fascism.