A community centre in Portslade is to be demolished to make way for 28 new council flats if new plans are approved.
Brighton and Hove City Council hopes to build the new homes on the site of Portslade Village Centre, also known as the Courthope, and demolish 26 garages and a hard court play area.
This in addition to plans to build 15 new homes on the nearby Windlesham House site in Windlesham Close.
The new housing scheme would include a replacement community centre, outside play area and car parking as well as a new path from Windlesham Close to Portslade Village Green.
The current community building, which housed the youth learning disability charity Extratime, is now leased out by the council to Nautical Training Corps – a charity organisation that provides maritime youth training.
The planning statement says: “The existing building is outdated and in need of significant modernisation as it was built in the 1960’s.
“The existing building has a challenging layout with rooms including a main hall and secondary hall (please see existing floorplans).
“There is little useable public amenity space on the site at present and it is of low quality with predominantly hard landscaping, but does include a poorly maintained hard games court within the site.
“A key component of the proposals, is the provision of a replacement community centre.
“These facilities will replace those currently on the site but in an upgraded and modern form, which is more accessible and more usable for all.
“Notably the existing building sits at a higher gradient to the east of the site making it difficult for the mobility impaired and people with children in prams to access the facility on foot.
“On this basis, although the proposals will result in a net loss of community floorspace, the new upgraded facilities will offer a significant overall enhancement in the quality and experience of the community space.
“The new building will undoubtedly provide a fresh focal point for the whole community.”
Portslade Village Centre is currently leased to leased out by the council to the Nautical Training Corps
The council’s proposal says that the scheme is part of its work to prioritise the development of ‘infill’ brownfield sites for additional affordable housing.
Two separate three story buildings are proposed, with a mix of one, two and three bed flats, to fit in with the surrounding Dudney Court, Kemps Court and Lindfield housing blocks.
Three of the four ground floor flats will be wheelchair accessible and the overall mix of housing would include six one-bedroom flats, 16 two-bedroom flats and six three-bedroom flats.
The buildings would have a flat roof and use a light buff brick with contrasting windows in a shade of red.
The walls of the new community centre will consist of a red brick offering a visual marker to the location.
The new community centre will have two halls, an office, kitchen and sufficient toilet facilities.
There would be a total of 22 parking spaces, including 10 spaces for the community centre – meaning the scheme falls short of 15 spaces for the residential development – and a total of 44 cycle spaces.
The transport statement says that the vehicle trips generated by the development would not be significant and would not impact the operation or safety of the local highway network.
A new pedestrian pathway would be built to link Windlesham Close to the Village Green to the north-east, with a residents’ growing area and raised planters as well as wildflower and grassland.
To replace the loss of the hard court play area, a smaller year-round one is proposed, with improved access and proximity to changing facilities and vehicle parking.
A public consultation was held from February to March 2023, but planning documents do not show if any comments from the consultation were integrated into proposed designs.
You can read the full application on the council’s planning portal with this reference: BH2023/03130.
I’m glad to see the Community space is staying in an improved form. They are so valuable these days.
Another development in Portslade and the Labour-led council want to close St Peter’s School and Nursery, and shove all the students into the remaining surplus places, which are limited across year groups already. This is completely unacceptable!! They are not thinking about how this impacts local services in the community.
Chicken / egg situation Emily.
Emily is right.
BHCC has proven time and time again it can wheel out the magic money tree when it’s something its officers want to do. Here we are expected to trust an artist’s impression which doesn’t even show a replacement community centre, never mind explain how this will be a like-for-like replacement of the so-called ‘outdated’ one.
Some of us still remember how the developer of the Lectern pub in Lewes Road got planning permission after promising a new community space within the new block. The residents ended up with the equivalent of a broom cupboard out of it – unuseable and almost inaccessible. The community was conned. Never trust developers, whether private, or working in partnership with our council. Hold them to account at every stage.
Have you tried reading the documentation on the proposal? It details your questions very comprehensively.
We definitely need council housing stock. Glad to B&H the only council are still building affordable homes to rent, for those on Low income.
I bet you’re also glad BHCC is on the verge of bankruptcy.
I agree, it will always be a constant battle, but some progress is always better than nothing at all. And hopefully, with a fundamental shift in central government, we might be seeing a much firmer housing strategy for 2024/25!
How much smaller will the new community space be and what facilities will be lost?
Why do the new council blocks look like prison blocks? Couldn’t they at least make an effort to build something pleasant in a village environment along the lines of the Hedgehog Homes Community Build project in Bevendean?
You could read the planning application documents.
If buildings are in need of replacement after 60 years how long will these be expected to last. For a city that prides itself on Regency period architecture why do we not building buildings that are sustainable?
At what cost? The new build will come as an offset to the land lost to nearby, highdensity buildings. In another 60, or less, will we be forced to repeat this exercise?
Typical Modern Development,
Square Faceless Buildings,
Housing ofda Future. . .
Is “Affordable Housing” the new sales banner for developers to win over gullible property owners? “Affordable” yeah, maybe for London settlers.
Affordable Housing is a quantifiable term. However, I suspect we agree about this: Is affordable housing affordable?
Parking will be a problem as they are taking away garages also parbays at Dudney court .They are providing limited parking for the New flats,it’s already very difficult to park in Windlesham close.
Garages are also a very ineffective way of delivering parking, as it only ever provides one dedicated parking space, and is often empty during most of the day. There are better solutions out there!
Pitched too RD may cost more immediately but the maintenance will be cheaper and the appearance is much better.
Why does it need to be so ugly? It will be a slum block in a few years. At least the Le carbone development was done with sensitivity as befits a conservation area and actually enhances the character of the village. I’ve never been more impressed with a housing development. By contrast this proposal is destined to be an eyesore despite their talk of wild flowers etc. The council has a woeful record when it comes to maintaining green spaces and verges so we can look forward to docks, ragwort and mud rather than a flower strewn meadow.
As for the lack of parking spaces for the number of dwellings, that will impact on the already congested local area. The large number of bike racks is wishful thinking I’m afraid. It’s not practical for most people to go to work on their bikes.
Could do better.