Senior councillors are being asked to approve a series of related land deals this week that could bring scores of new homes to two key sites in Brighton and Hove.
The homes would be built on the Royal Mail offices in North Road, Brighton, and Denmark Villas, Hove, while a new distribution centre would be built on disused farmland in Patcham.
If a deal is agreed, Brighton and Hove City Council would grant a long lease on Patcham Court Farm, in Vale Avenue, to Royal Mail.
And the council’s joint housing venture with Hyde Homes – known as Home for Brighton and Hove – would be given four months to agree terms to buy the two existing Royal Mail premises.
If a deal cannot be agreed, the Royal Mail is expected to sell the two sites to the highest bidder.
The council hopes that almost 180 homes could go on the two sites, with at least 40 per cent of them classed as affordable.
Past indications suggest that at least 110 homes could be built on the North Road site, along with some ground floor commercial premises.
With recent planning decisions permitting a number of taller buildings, some expect the possibility of even more homes to be pencilled in for the two sites, along with some offices.
A report to councillors said: “The council has explored the acquisition of the two existing Royal Mail sorting office sites which will be vacated by Royal Mail following the development of the Patcham Court Farm site but was unable to deliver viable schemes.”
An initial decision is due to be made at a special meeting of the council’s Policy and Resources Committee at Hove Town Hall on Friday (29 July).
A report to the committee said: “Patcham Court Farm is a 3.6-acre strategic site. It originally formed part of a wider agricultural holding and was severed from the main farm in 1989-90 by the construction of the A27 Brighton relief road
“It comprises a number of large buildings in disrepair and is heavily screened by existing trees and vegetation.
“The site has remained undeveloped for over 30 years and is currently occupied as open storage.
“There have been eight attempts since the early 1990s to redevelop the site with various feasibility studies and marketing campaigns undertaken to consider a number of uses including park and ride, supermarket, offices and hotel.
“During that time a number of unsolicited approaches have been received from interested parties including the proposal from Royal Mail in 2018.
“Since then, the council has been working in collaboration with Royal Mail to assist them in developing a scheme which consolidates their existing sorting office services from their two sites in North Road, Brighton, and Denmark Villas, Hove, to the Patcham Court Farm site, facilitating the closure of the two existing sorting office sites and their disposal for redevelopment.
https://corporatewatch.org has articles on Hyde Homes. I guess every large
company will have its detractors and will have problems like with the wooden cladding,
but what I can’t let pass is the Open Market. Even with lights on it is gloomy on the sunniest of days. The little workshops on the upper level get no direct light. It is
just so chilly and uninviting.
Lets hope they pull out the stops on the coming project.