A campaign group fighting the spread of high-rise buildings in Hove is calling a public meeting.
It wants to gauge opinion about another set of plans for a tall building in the Davigdor Road and Cromwell Road area of the town.
Hove Gold, which was set up last year, is opposing plans for the seven-storey building on the corner of Cromwell Road and Palmeira Avenue – diagonally opposite the Goodwood Court flats and the Palmeira pub.
The plans have been submitted by a Northern Irish company called RKO Developments for an 80-room hotel and 80 flats and involve demolishing four or five existing properties.
The meeting is due to take place at 7.30pm on Friday (28 June) at the Holland Road Baptist Church, in Holland Road, Hove.
The group has previously campaigned against plans to build 152 flats in four blocks in Lyon Close and a proposal for offices and 52 flats in Davigdor Road.
But both schemes, near the Artisan flats in Davigdor Road, were given planning permission by Brighton and Hove City Council.
The Cromwell Road hotel scheme has attracted 139 objections so far, with some of the opponents questioning the need for a hotel.
RKO, run by Claire Leak, believes that it will be a good site, close to the county cricket ground which is due to be modernised, includes business premises and is increasingly used for events other than cricket.
One commenter whose identity has been concealed on the council’s website said that the area needed more affordable low-rise homes not more expensive tall blocks of flats.
The objection said: “I moved to this area because it is a pleasant place to live and find that we are now being surrounded by new developments.
“In particular, this area is not one that requires a hotel and that just seems like a crazy place to put this kind of development.”
Neighbours are also concerned about traffic and parking although the hotel and flats scheme includes 84 parking spaces.
Another objector whose details are redacted said: “This is a residential area, with no need for a hotel. The development will cause increased traffic flow and parking demand (which is already very pressurised).
“The building is too high and completely out of keeping for the area. It will negatively impact current local resident’s situations.
“The type of housing units proposed do not respond to local need for an increase in affordable family accommodation.”
Some objectors are worried about the impact on the busy Charter Medical Centre and local schools, particularly after the approval of plans for nearby schemes.
Another redacted comment said: “There is no need for a hotel in this part of Hove.
“The pressures on local services such as medical centres and schools will worsen and the increase in height over existing buildings will also ratchet up the acceptable level of further developments in the vicinity.”
Objections have also been lodged by the Hove Civic Society, the Brighton Society and the Regency Society.
The Regency Society and Hove Civic Society both had concerns about proposals to use black bricks and weathered steel as building materials.
They were also concerned that only 20 per cent of the flats would be classed as “affordable” and questioned the need for a hotel in the area.
The Brighton Society said that the proposed development would be opposite the Willetts Estate – a conservation area where the Victorian homes were built using predominantly yellow or cream gault brick with some faced with red brick.
RKO said that its scheme would create jobs, provide homes and include a developer contribution of about £576,000, much of it to fund schools and transport.
To see the planning application and to comment on it, go to the council website at planningapps.brighton-hove.gov.uk and search for BH2019/00127.
Dear Campaigners,
I fully support what you are trying to achieve – ie: less High Rise, less development, less traffic, better residential parking. I have moved out of Avondale Road to Worthing for just these reasons. I was born and bred in Brighton & Hove since 1957 yet felt the need to leave because of over development, high prices and too many students/young people. Those in charge nowadays have no inkling of how lovely my town, my Brighton, used to be. Glad but very sad to say goodbye to Brighton.