Brighton and Hove City Council has launched the new City Plan consultation which will provide feedback on the evolution of planning policies to take us up to 2041.
This stage focuses on key city-wide issues regarding the policy scope, with sustainable development at its core.
Feedback from residents of all ages, the business community, developers, agents and public sector stakeholders among others is an important part of the democratic process which the planning system requires for its legitimacy.
The City Plan is also shaped by the statutory framework and national planning policy.
Once policies are adopted, they form the basis of decision-making with respect to planning applications.
The first consultation exercise will run to Monday 20 January. At this early stage, feedback is high level – looking at principles and ideas that could be considerations for policies.
The process will culminate in a draft City Plan document that will be subject to a public examination by a planning inspector to assess it for “soundness”. It is due for adoption in 2027.
Planning has a key role to play in the delivery of housing and health, open and green spaces, job retention and economic growth – local and regional.
Policies should seek to address inequalities in order to achieve mixed and balanced communities with access to opportunity and where there is healthy place-making.
We need to encourage behaviour change through policy to make the necessary compromises for longevity.
There are aesthetic benefits of living between the sea and the Downs but in places the city has challenging topography.
We have a shortage of land. Our road network can get congested, not helped by the city’s Victorian infrastructure. Transport should be efficient, with choices that minimise harmful environmental impacts.
Our townscape, heritage and green infrastructure requires protection and should be managed in a way that enhances health and wellbeing. What does that mean to you?
Taller buildings may increase our housing supply in the right place but can also negatively impact on the city if over-developed.
We have housing stock nearing the end of its life. We do not have enough affordable housing. Families are leaving the city owing to housing costs. Many people need temporary accommodation. Demands on social care are running high.
We want an accessible and inclusive city, ensuring that intergenerational needs are met. How so? Should we manage the redevelopment of small sites where this can be supported?
Climate change and net zero carbon strategies are drivers behind mitigation measures to respond to negative climate impacts, flood risk, air quality and urban cooling.
Our wildlife habitats need protection so we must ensure we provide the necessary net gain in biodiversity when new proposals come forward. How can we go further?
Residents often refer to the protection of local cultural heritage and better respect character of place. How is this best achieved?
Many people may want to comment on what is most valuable to our identity. The city is on show in parts and must be welcoming for all including visitors.
The city could increase its manufacturing capacity and expand into areas of economic growth such as renewable energy, retrofitting and construction if sites can be found. We need to take advantage of our high level of skills and education from schools to universities.
Your ideas are welcome. Early-stage feedback shows that the public is actively engaging with consultation.
The council has run open sessions in libraries. These will continue between now and mid-January. The consultation is also available on our new online consultation platform Your Voice. And there is an email address for responses at planningpolicy@brighton-hove.gov.uk.
Councillor Liz Loughran chairs Brighton and Hove City Council’s Planning Committee.
The council are part of the mechanism that is destroying the private rental market. Build to rents are equally affected. Having done this government and councils need to take responsibility and build own housing, and stop right to buy.
The private sector will not come to the rescue.
BTW the other reasons families are leaving is the prevalence of open drug use and the foisting of hidden extreme idealism on children in council controlled schools.
Regarding the Right to Buy, I have always felt there should be what is quintessentially a minimal service level, when stock reaches a certain point, or the waiting list reaches a certain threshold, the right-to-buy scheme is paused until the levels are managed again, preventing sales of stock when there is a need for it.
There are a few areas where the high-rises are reaching end-of-life. There’s some merit in considering how these kinds of areas are ripe for regeneration. A recent trip to Woolwich made me think of this, as huge sections are being regenerated, and sorely needed to be.