The council’s new cabinet has approved a £30 million plan to build 183 council flats to be let with truly affordable rents.
At the first meeting of the new Brighton and Hove City Council cabinet, members backed a proposal to work jointly with the Hyde Group housing association on the plan.
Hyde will build 123 flats for shared ownership on the same site, next to the new Moda flats, at the old Sackville Trading Estate, in Sackville Road, Hove.
The cabinet was told that a grant from Homes England, a government agency, would enable the council to keep rents down when tenants moved in.
Moda is nearing completion on a £160 million scheme to build almost 600 flats. The company has planning permission for 280 “extra care” homes but is not going ahead with the scheme.
The deputy leader of the council Jacob Taylor told the cabinet meeting that the homes would have a 60-year lifespan and the £30 million budget included the purchase price of the land.
Councillor Taylor, the cabinet member for finance and city regeneration, said: “The housing crisis in this city is both deep and broad. Thousands of families have presented as homeless to the council in recent years. In extreme cases, there are rough sleepers.
“Renters pay eye-watering sums for smaller spaces and worse conditions. And families have moved out of the city because it’s become so unaffordable.
“The solution to this crisis is to build more homes and, in particular, council homes at social rents.
“That’s exactly what we’re doing today – and I couldn’t be prouder to serve in an administration that is laser-focused on building council housing as quickly as possible so that a decent affordable home can become a right not a luxury.”
Fellow Labour councillor Tim Rowkins, the cabinet member for net zero and environmental services, said that the scale of the housing crisis was heartbreaking and much of his casework was housing related.
Councillor Rowkins said: “Every single one of them has been crushingly sad, with people in desperate need and housed inappropriately.
“To see something like this coming forward with, not the usual aspiration of 40 per cent but 60 per cent with social rents, and 183 units becoming available to support people that are in serious need – it’s a drop in the ocean but it’s a big drop in the ocean. I’m very supportive of it.”
Councillor Rowkins said that he would be keen to ensure that the new homes were energy-efficient.
Council leader Bella Sankey said: “In my time as a councillor so far, the part of my role I have struggled most with is understanding the scale of the crisis we have and the heartbreaking implications for our residents
“I have seen overcrowding in flats and houses of a nature that I didn’t think was possible in the city I’ve lived in for the best part of 41 years.
“Things have got to a very extreme place with direct results and implications, particularly for children that are growing up in overcrowded households that do not have enough space to do their homework or to have any sense of privacy or separate and the knock-on impact that can have on families in terms of stress levels and anxiety.”
When Moda applied for planning permission, many people living in nearby streets raised concerns about the effects of more people and more cars in an already-congested area.
Before the cabinet meeting at Brighton Town Hall this afternoon (Thursday 27 June), Conservative councillor Samer Bagaeen spoke out about their concerns.
He said that more than a thousand people were expected to live in the Moda complex and this would put a strain on infrastructure from traffic and transport to doctors’ surgeries.
Labour councillor Trevor Muten, the cabinet member for transport, parking and the public realm, said that there would be improvements made to the transport infrastructure in the area.
He said: “We plan to improve the Blatchington Road, Portland Road and Sackville Road junction as part of our bus service improvement plan to ensure better bus services and timetables and general traffic flows in this part of Hove.
“We’re working closely with residents in the Nevill and Orchard area of Hove to enable better parking provision and enforcement and will also look at potential impacts in the Artists Corner area of Hove.”
He said that more crossings were also planned to improve safety on the streets.
Much needed additional stock. The thing about drops of water is they eventually fill a bucket over time. A positive story, this one.
It is about time that more social/affordable housing was built. That said, I am aware of other new buildings in the city put up by this housing association which have numerous ongoing problems including water penetration, due to poor build quality. There must be stringent controls for these projects if planning permission is to be granted. Ultimately, building regulations and NHBC warranties offer very little protection to the residents who are caught up by these issues.
The matters of inadequate infrastructure and services for the increased local population are another concern. We must hope the local authority give more consideration to the practicality of their ‘road improvement schemes’ and not be blinkered by the virtue signalling opportunities that, for instance, the installation of poorly located and little used cycling lanes offer.
The feeling at the cabinet was very much one of a continued relationship with this group, so I think you highlight a very important challenge that should be made with ensure the quality of the work done.
A good time to sell up in this area of Hove. Parking and anti-social behaviour issues will soar.
Quite a broad tent you’re setting up there, bit of stereotyping, and a hint of classism. Nice.
Good move to make one of their first cabinet decisions a popular one, but how long will it last?
Sadly the new buildings are likely to be of poor look and quality as that’s what gets thrown up these days.
They did say at the cabinet. Ever the skeptic, Barry, and that’s perfectly fine. Good even. Intelligent citicism is good for making sure projects are the best they can be.
In several European countries such dense development is often accompanied by vast underground parking provision. Could also provide a lot more EV charge points in a large underground carpark if the fire brigade would allow it.
But….. think of all the lovely Council Tax that will flow into the coffers!
Tax isn’t a bad thing though. Tax, or redistribution of wealth, can help balance a lot of society, especially when done well.
One interesting point in the article that was glossed over: “The company has planning permission for 280 “extra care” homes but is not going ahead with the scheme.”
What is the reason for this? We are in desperate need of more homes. 123 new social flats is good – but at the same more than double this number are not being built despite there being planning permission. Why not?