The Hove Station Neighbourhood Forum is holding a “Have Your Say Day” to share updates on plans to build almost 1,000 homes in the area.
It is the sixth feedback day to be organised by the group and will include information about schemes at the top of Sackville Road, in Newtown Road and Ellen Street.
The forum said that its “big idea” was that regeneration should not be a piecemeal collection of unconnected developments.
Rather, within the framework of a “neighbourhood plan”, it should be co-ordinated, delivering a new Hove Station Quarter and other “community hubs”.
The area should have an integrated series of mixed-use housing and commercial developments and the whole should be greater than the sum of the parts.
The forum said that work was under way with housing association Hyde having started on its “New Wave” scheme which would provide 65 homes in Newtown Road.
Of the 26 “affordable units”, eight are for rent, with tenants expected to pay 80 per cent of the local market rent. The rest of the affordable homes are for shared ownership.
Next year the scheme’s flats are expected to sell for more than £350,000 and the town houses for £575,000.
Much larger schemes are in the pipeline such as Matsim’s proposed redevelopment of the commercial units in Ellen Street. A scheme was rejected by Brighton and Hove City Council last June but an appeal hearing could take place.
Matsim wanted to create “Hove Gardens”, with 178 homes and office space totalling 21,500 square feet, at a cost of £70 million.
And another company, Mountpark, is expected to submit plans soon for the Sackville Trading Estate and former coal yard.
Mountpark wants to build 600 homes, 50,000 sq ft of offices, 20,000 sq ft of cultural and industrial space at a cost of £200 million.
More details will be available at the Have Your Say Day on Saturday (17 February) from 11.30am to 3pm at the Honeycroft Centre, by Conway Court, in Sackville Road, Hove.
For more information about Hove Station Neighbourhood Forum, click here.
Wouldn’t it be good if the council provided some clear leadership in this area which is so ripe with potential! The City Plan is a start but – with no disrespect to the Neighbourhood Forum – why is the council not hosting exactly this sort of event? And specialist events too for landowners, developers, planners and other relevant professionals? Network Rail should be involved – and the possibility of building above and across the tracks should at least be considered – not necessarily at the station, perhaps on the approach. We are so short of land and Network Rail has shown imagination in this respect elsewhere. The station itself could even become more welcoming from the north! Proper, well-led brainstorming events could bring out a host of ideas, with members of the Neighbourhood Forum well-placed to feed in some practical concerns built on sound local knowledge – and in some cases sound planning knowledge too. This calls for professional and political civic leadership.