Three tower blocks – one of them 20 storeys high – are planned as part of a £76 million scheme on the coast road in Hove.
The plans include 135 flats and commercial premises on less than an acre of land between the A259 Kingsway and Basin Road North, at the Hove end of Shoreham Harbour.
The 20-storey block is one of three high-rise buildings forming part of a project known as Aldrington Wharf and would rise to more than 74 metres or 240ft high.
Two 10-storey towers would each be about 44 metres high – or 145ft. By contrast, the two-storey houses opposite are about 20ft high.
Previous projects on the same site have included the Brighton and Hove Gateway scheme and, before that, PortZed.
Neighbours and community groups objected to the previous lower-rise schemes and are expected to campaign against the latest plans proposed by Synergy Developments.
Synergy has submitted a planning application to Brighton and Hove City Council and included an “economic impact statement” claiming that the scheme would be worth £1.5 million a year to the local economy.
Most of the flats would have two bedrooms and there are already concerns about whether enough – or any – will be classed as “affordable” homes.
The developer said: “The proposed development represents a unique opportunity to develop this outdated and low-quality employment site into a first-class mixed-use regeneration scheme.
“It will provide 135 new homes, 106 jobs and the equivalent of 27 sustainable construction jobs, 32 skills and training opportunities for young people and 1,144.20 square metres of first-class commercial business space.
“The site will generate an estimated £2.99 million in local spending during the construction period and an annual economic spending benefit of £1.56 million once development is completed, including about £469,000 in public sector receipts per annum.”
If approved, the scheme is also expected to be worth more than £2 million to the council in a payment from the developer known as the “community infrastructure levy”.
The plans include parking for 101 cars, all of which will have an electric car-charging point, and 207 cycle parking spaces.
To see or comment on the planning application, visit the council’s website here and search for BH2022/02266.
