More than 400 people have objected to a defence manufacturer’s bid to keep a temporary extension to its Brighton factory.
One Green councillor, whose details have been redacted on the council’s website, says the factory on the Home Farm Business Centre off Lewes Road brings the city into disrepute.
Public comments on the plans for L3 Harris, at the Home Farm Business Centre, reflect concerns over how the products made at the factory are used in conflict zones globally, with most comments referring to bomb racks and bomb release mechanisms.
No public comments were received for the company’s original 2018 application (BH2018/01868), which sought to expand the company’s operations by providing additional manufacturing space.
At the time of writing, 436 comments have been received, with 434 against the new application to Brighton and Hove City Council to keep the temporary extension, built in September 2018. Some of the objections follow a template, with the same text repeated.
The comment from the unnamed Green councillor said: “As a resident and Green councillor of Brighton and Hove I object in the strongest terms to this proposed application submitted by L3 Harris.
“The continued presence of L3-Harris in Brighton brings the council’s and our area’s reputation into disrepute: expanding this arms factory puts our area on the map for all the wrong reasons.”
Concerned residents will hand deliver 200 of the objections as signed letters to the planning department at Hove Town Hall on Wednesday, 17 January at 1.30pm.
Another public comment reads: “I find it absolutely unbelievable that within the boundaries of Brighton and Hove we have a factory making components for weapons.
“We are meant to be a city of sanctuary, not a sanctuary for arms manufacturers. Please refuse all requests and preferably shut this business.
“Don’t let Brighton be part of the killing machine.”
The latest Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) arms industry database ranked L3Harris as the world’s 12th largest arms-producing company.
The planning statement says the extension has allowed L3 Harris to increase the number of jobs at the site and that removal of the extension would “adversely impact on the business requirements of the applicant”.
L3 Harris was contacted for comment.
You can read the full application on the council’s planning portal under reference BH2023/03236.
The case for:
1) Provides employment in a town where manufacturing jobs are not encouraged by the council.
2) Weapons are a necessary evil – just look at Ukraine, Israel, Yemen etc.
3) Weapon sales are very tightly controlled by government regulations. It is the job of Government not tin-pot wanabes.
4) Interfering with weapons production is quite frankly idiotic at this time. I have to question the motives and allegiance of those that do.
PS Who actually believes all this City Of Sanctuary guff ? Certainly not the majority of the Brighton population, and it was never voted for. Perhaps the council could focus on potholes, schools, rubbish, council homes – you know all the stuff that Councillors are supposed to do.
So, to stay in favour of the muppets across the pond who create wars to increase the income of the warmongers we in the UK need to increase weapon production ?? How about them across the pond and the UK bring the Armies home and provide DEFENCE as was intended, everything else is greed and power, I was in the Army “68 – “82, seen a few exotic places including 2 tours of NI, get us out of this mess and not deeper into it, we did Yemen/Aden in the “60s, Mad Mitch did the job then got sidelined, in the last 25 -30 years we have Bosnia, Afghanistan, and loads more of USA influenced political wars for greed and power, Ukraine is all about a USA proxy war to facilitate a US power grab on RUSSIAN resources via UKRAINE, to get there the USA needs Ukraine, Israel/Gaza is US funded and influenced, has been since 1949 at which point the BRITISH Government was supposed to take of Palestinian interests, see how that looks now that most of the land grabbers are US “citizens”
If Putin invades Latvia (a NATO member), and he is making noises about it, it may become irrelevant. We will go to war to defend NATO members. Then we will need everything as this and previous governments have run our armed forces into the ground. Some 100 years after the last time they did it.
Putin has no intention of invading any country, he pushed into Ukraine to PROTECT RUSSIAN/UKRANIAN gas and oil supplies against US intervention, therefore its a US war by proxy. USA go home and sort out your own home grown “DEMOCRAT” orientated squabbles and interference in the the rest of the Planet along with everything you subtitle “for the greater good”, the rest dont need it dont want it and never asked for it, people should read up on how many conflicts the USA started for their own benefit, currently ,,,who fired the missile at the Greek tanker, Houtis ????? or USA for another excuse to start another war ?? go home USA and take your idiot ideology with you, Trump said,,, bring the troops home to USA, bring the Auto industry home to USA for Americans, build the rest of the wall, 2000 miles, the first 1000 miles built every other President but NOT by Trump, more USA Democrats propaganda blaming Trump for what the Democrats have been doing for years, add Tory Blair to the muppetry.
‘pushed into’ sounds very much like an invasion to me
you mean keeping the US of A”holes out
Mate, stop reading conspiracy theories, get a COVID jab and get a life lol.
And your total thought process managed that much ?????
“One Green councillor, whose details have been redacted on the council’s website, says the factory on the Home Farm Business Centre off Lewes Road brings the city into disrepute.”
And as a councillor they should know that it’s not a valid objection on planning grounds.
A planning committee that denied the application based on moral, non planning grounds would soon find themselves overruled on appeal to a planning inspector.
Luckily our planning system doesn’t take into account invalid moaning about people’s personal options on what a business manufactures.
It provides well paid hi tech jobs. Good on them I say. Comments moaning about who weapons are sold to should be directed towards the government. But people forget that war unfortunately protects our way of life and freedom of expression. Countries such as Ukraine are currently in a war to protect that right of their citizens, so get educated and stop being a wet lettuce.
Doing our bit to crush Hamas and their supporters. What some scruffy oiks from Brighton who smell of **** think is completely irrelevant.
How about giving Palestinians back their country and Northern Ireland back to the Irish, 2 major “f-ups” created by our country,
Glad to live in a place where adding to the stock of human misery is widely thought not to be ok. Because it’s not, despite what some soured-up old cynics might say.