Plans for an 88 bedroom care home for the elderly have come under fire for looking like a “Victorian workhouse”.
Grove Park, a three-storey building with a basement planned for The Linkway in Hollingdean, is going before Brighton and Hove planners next week.
While not objecting in principle, The Regency Society has criticised the the look and layout of the care home.
Richard Carroll, honorary secretary of The Regency Society said: “The design of the building is disappointingly old-fashioned.
“It is starkly uniform and has the appearance of a Victorian workhouse.”
His comment on Brighton and Hove City Council website went on to describe the inside as having an “institutional” layout.
People living in nearby Horton Road and Davey Drive are concerned about the building overshadowing their homes as they are lower down the hill.
Its owners Hazeldene Project Management already have two planning permissions for a two-storey care home on the site, one for a 100-bedroom home and another for a 75-bedroom home.
The site was formerly occupied by William Moon Lodge, which sat empty for several years before being demolished ten years ago.
The original 1963 building was home to Sussex Lantern from 1994 until 2006 when the charity for the partially sighted moved out as it could no longer afford to maintain the 43-year-old building.
Members of Brighton and Hove City Council Planning Committee are advised to approve the application when it goes before them on Wednesday 20 March.
A report by officers said: “In light of the previous approvals on the site for a 100 and a 75 bed care home, the current proposal for an 88 bed care home can in principle be accepted.
“The proposed development would provide much needed residential care accommodation. It is considered to be of an acceptable design and would not harm the character and appearance of the surrounding area.”
The Planning Committee meets in public at Hove Town Hall from 1.30pm.
