Traffic concerns prompt councillors to reject current plan for new housing estate in Hove

Plans for a housing estate for thousands of people in Hove have been criticised by councillors, with traffic and air quality among their main concerns.

They voted against the outline proposals for 880 homes in Toads Hole Valley at the northern end of the Goldstone Valley, in Hove.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Their views will be submitted to the government’s Planning Inspectorate which will hold a week-long public inquiry in June to decide whether to grant planning permission for the scheme.

The decision was taken out of councillors’ hands after the developer, a consortium known as Toads Hole Valley Limited, appealed against the “non-determination” of its planning application.

Brighton and Hove City Council blamed National Highways for the delay because the government agency had not completed its expert traffic assessment.

Today (Monday 21 March) the council’s Planning Committee devoted almost four hours to a special meeting about the scheme at Hove Town Hall.

Officials advised them to vote as they would have done if they were deciding the application and to vote to refuse it. And they did.

Conservative councillor Samer Bagaeen addressed the meeting as a ward councillor for Hove Park where residents are concerned about the scheme’s traffic and road safety implications.

Councillor Bagaeen, a professor of planning, said: “Our residents in neighbourhoods adjacent to this site have concerns about traffic.

“Please therefore do not rule out the application of common sense and local knowledge. If something in the plans seems illogical or erroneous, that’s probably because it is.

“The land promoter and their agents may claim that they have carried out consultation and dealt with local residents’ concerns.

“In 2021, the land promoter held two online meetings where its representatives gave presentations but asked for questions to be sent to them by email.

“There is much better good practice on consultation out there.

“I have serious concerns about the delivery of affordable housing on this site given the model of delivery and approach adopted by the land promoter and officers for this site – an illustrative or indicative one only.

“This application for outline planning permission is seeking to establish the general guiding principles the use, scale and nature – of development.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

“Outline planning applications are generally cheaper to pursue than detailed ones and I suspect that the push by the applicants at this point in the process for securing permission is driven by the need to secure a cash win after years of attempts to secure permission.

Councillor Bagaeen said that further planning applications would be needed to deal with “reserved matters”.

He said: “These are likely to come as parcels of 60 to 100 homes at a time, given that a developer or developers have not been identified for the site.

“We need to build homes for residents – and future residents. However, we need planning which complements our environmental aims, contributes to a more sustainable economic model in which young people have better access to affordable homes and enhances our design style and our local areas.