A property developer appears to have pulled the plug on plans to house up to 60 recovering drug addicts and alcoholics in the Old Brewery in Portslade.
Peker Holding London Limited was in talks to lease flats in the building in High Street, in Portslade Old Village, to the charity St John of God (SJOG).
But Peker’s representatives are understood to have felt that they had been given a misleading picture of who would be staying in the newly converted luxury flats.
And after a meeting with Portslade councillors yesterday (Monday 17 October) the company said that it was “not going ahead with SJOG’s proposal”. To read their reaction, click here.
SJOG, a national charity based in Darlington, Co Durham, won two contracts worth £10 million over five years from Brighton and Hove City Council and NHS Sussex, the new integrated care board.
The contracts – awarded despite the lack of a suitable property – were for “high and medium support mental health supported accommodation” and “crisis house mental health service”.
SJOG was due to start moving people into the Old Brewery, also known as Le Carbone, early this month although the start date was put back to the beginning of next month.
But when the four Portslade councillors were told about the plans, they raised concerns that were reinforced at two public meetings in the Old Village last week.
SJOG, the council and NHS Sussex representatives went to the first heated meeting but pulled out of the second one, adding to residents’ concerns.
The key criticisms included the lack of consultation – in contrast to the charity Emmaus which runs nearby premises with a similar client group. It was praised by many and is well supported by the community in Portslade.
But other concerns included the lack of communal space, the lack of suitable local amenities and the lack of parking for staff and visitors.
The building also did not appear to be ready to take those currently in the care of BHT Sussex, formerly Brighton Housing Trust, and the Sanctuary housing association.
And to cap it all, the proposal required planning permission but the council and the NHS appeared to have either overlooked, ignored or been unaware of their legal obligations.
Peker Holding London Limited said that it would not be going ahead with SJOG’s proposal “as what we were told and what we believe now is going to happen does not match”.
The company added: “We have never signed the lease and only became aware of the possible occupants at the same time as neighbours were informed.
“We respect those who have concerns and we share the same concerns.
“We trust this will now give some peace to everyone’s concerns and people will appreciate the lovely building that we have created there with a gym to use for public on ground floor.”
In contrast with the council and NHS, the building’s owner has applied for planning permission to turn the ground floor into a gym.
The ground floor, set aside for commercial use, was on the market for two years. But a “market report” said that there had been only five viewings and potential tenants were deterred by the lack of parking and lack of access to public transport.
The council was due to have decided the planning application by early April but has not yet done so even though the council’s planning policy team said in January that there were no grounds to object.
No new date has been given for when the outcome of the planning application will be known.
Wow SJOG, the NHS and the council really could not run a p#ss up in a brewery.