Planners have approved a proposal to turn a set of old buildings near Brighton station into 34 flats.
Fourteen of the flats, in Buckingham Road, Brighton, are earmarked for “affordable” housing – eight for affordable rent and six as shared ownership.
But at the moment there is no registered social landlord in place to take on the scheme and concerns were expressed about the prospect of finding one.
The Buckingham Road scheme was given planning permission by Brighton and Hove City Council Planning Committee at Hove Town Hall yesterday (Wednesday 15 August).
Earlier, at the same meeting, councillors had agreed to revised conditions relating to affordable homes at two other sites.
A key consideration was the lack of interest among registered social landlords – or housing associations – for small numbers of rented homes.
As the committee discussed the Buckingham Road plans, Conservative councillor Lee Wares asked whether developers should have a management agreement in place with a housing association before their plans were considered.
Councillors Wares said: “Why can’t this discussion take place so we don’t find ourselves in this position again in 18 months (so we are) not having to consider the scheme again because it has unravelled.”
He was told that the number of affordable flats in the Buckingham Road scheme and the way that they were grouped together would make them more attractive to social landlords.
The latest plans for the site include 14 flats instead of four townhouses at 76-79 Buckingham Road.
Next door, at number 80, 20 flats would be built and the frame of the existing building would be retained rather than replaced.
The site has previously been home to Brighton Grammar School – now BHASVIC (Brighton, Hove and Sussex VI Form College) in Dyke Road in Hove – and the Sussex Maternity Hospital.
A plaque commemorating EJ Marshall, headmaster from 1861 to 1899, is fixed to number 79.
And Labour councillor Julie Cattell, who chairs the Planning Committee, joked about putting up a blue plaque for Green councillor Leo Littman.
She made her light-hearted suggestion after Councillor Littman reminded the committee that he had been born at the old maternity hospital.
Good! I live close by and it’s been an eyesore for the last year with just an ugly steel frame on show!
I hope the council enforce the corner “sightline” which was supposed to be in the site fencing for drivers when turning left into Upper Gloucester Road to go down towards the station as they boarded it over about a year back and now you can’t see until you get into the junction.