Flats planned for a conservation area face opposition from neighbours.
A van hire site in Holland Road, Hove, is the proposed location for a four-storey block of nine two-bedroomed flats with ground floor office space by Perth Group Holdings.
The block would be between the locally listed Hove Hebrew Congregation synagogue and grade II listed Palmeira Yard, in the Brunswick Town Conservation Area.
A previous application for a four-storey block of nine flats was rejected on appeal in 2017 as it “would substantially and harmfully diminish the perception and attractiveness of Palmeira Yard”.
The application by developer Perth Group Holdings describes the new scheme as seeking to address the planning inspector’s concerns.
In its design and heritage statement the company said: “The proposed development will be replacing the existing office building with a high-quality, contemporary design, which is designed to be sensitive to the historic surroundings of the listed buildings and Brunswick Town Conservation Area.
“As a result, the proposed development would have a positive impact on the setting of adjacent listed buildings at Holland Road as well as this part of the Brunswick Town Conservation Area.”
There are currently 36 objections on Brighton and Hove City Council’s website, with many citing concerns about the impact on the listed buildings in the area.
One objection, with details redacted on the council website, said: “The proposed development is completely unsympathetic to the street scape and the surrounding heritage buildings and out of scale.
“I do not object to new building per se but they must fit in to a conservation/heritage area by being built in the same style.
“They should look like they have been there since the beginning of the neighbourhood.”
Another objector said: “It is inappropriate to build a four-storey building on the site clashing and degrading the heritage of the adjacent buildings.
“The excessive height will lead adjoining residents to suffer overshadowing, overlooking and loss of privacy since the proposed building will back directly onto the gardens of Lansdowne Street and overlook the rear of Palmeira Yard.”
The application and comments can be seen by searching for BH2019/01805 on the council’s website at planningapps.brighton-hove.gov.uk/online-applications/.
This is a sensitive site between Grade 2 listed Palmeira Yard & the locally listed synagogue. It is opposite the locally listed Gwydr Mansions too.
The proposed flats have balconies which that area does not otherwise have & which invite inappropriate gawking and loss of privacy for the synagogue use adjacent
It looks hideous, especially the finish. Very poor design whoever ‘designed’ it.
Looks great. We need more high end flats for commuters and for weekend hol homes. Looks super. Hopefully gets approval. Van company is an eye sore
Is that the best they can come up with. More boring generic architecture. Very lazy.
Ugly ugly ugly let’s build more slums for tomorrow, let’s make Hove a congested polluted overcrowded ghetto. Well done planners for being so keen to squeeze as many blokes of flats in a small area. The greed of the developers wins again at the sacrifice of people’s quality of life.
Well, I’ve seen worse …. much worse, but I’ve also seen better!
I’ve no objection to modern design, providing it’s well done, by which I mean not only aesthetically acceptable, but (and here’s the rub) energy efficient. If new styles of architecture are to grace our historic city, let’s for pete’s sake ensure they’re worthy and add to, rather than detract from the ambience.
I implore those reading this, please … go online to see for yourself what’s now practical, though I warn you, it is highly likely to produce a reaction somewhere between surprise at what’s actually possible and anger, when considering that we all know significant reductions in carbon emissions are crucial (ergo we need to use energy much more wisely). You will quickly come to realise that so much architecture touted as ‘modern’ is, in reality, nothing of the sort.
20% energy reductions (see most new planning applications) are, frankly, pathetic. It is now perfectly feasible, given adequate funding, to reduce the energy consumption (and cost thereof) in even the most clapped out Georgian or Victorian edifice by around 80% (with 90%, if you go ‘the whole hog’) and new builds can readily be designed “zero emission”, meaning they can produce a surplus of energy for most of the year, actually feeding into the grid for much of the time. This needs to be the standard of new buildings we should be seeing right now …. and not just on the high end ‘Grand Designs’ sort of project.
The technical capability to wean ourselves from fossil fuel dependency exists now. Our new and existing housing stock is a major element in having the confidence to know we can set and meet energy reduction targets way beyond anything we’re currently continually setting and failing to meet. What’s lacking is any clear political will to make it happen.