Outline plans for 14 houses on a triangle of land have secured backing after the developer agreed to provide “affordable” homes on site.
It was the third time Brighton developer Mike Stimpson’s plans to build on a corner plot at Foredown Road and Fox Way, Portslade have gone before councillors .
The Planning Committee deferred the decision from the May meeting after councillors asked for Brighton and Hove City Council’s housing department or another registered provider to look at taking on the four “affordable” homes instead of receiving more than £750,000 to provide accommodation elsewhere.
Mr Stimpson secured outline permission for the development in July 2021, with the condition he provides social housing on another site in the city.
But his plans to convert the former Mission Church Hall, in Bentham Road, Brighton, into flats were not approved.
Green councillor Sue Shanks, who pushed for the move to bring the on-site affordable housing under council control, was pleased with the change put before the Planning Committee on Wednesday 8 June.
She said: “I’m pleased to see it’s going to be affordable housing on-site. I think in the future, we need to look at policy and the number of units and maybe reducing the number of units on site.
“It’s important to get more affordable housing, and the sums mean you can buy it, but having new homes is a good thing.”
Labour councillor Daniel Yates said: “We are finally getting to a place where it feels like the committee is happier with it than we were previously.
“We are back to the position we were at the start of this process where we’ll get an amount of affordable housing out of it.”
Conservative councillor Carol Theobald was the only committee member voting against the scheme.
She said: “I am rather worried it is a very small triangle of land, and I feel 14 houses is too much for it. I didn’t vote for it last time.
“I think if you’re going to put houses on that kind of site, you need to have affordable houses on site.
“Commutable sums are something we need to get away from.”
The committee voted six to one to approve the application.
