The owner of a former gym premises in Hove has applied for permission to demolish the building for fear that it may be unsafe.
Those fears have been compounded by claims that squatters and other trespassers had spent time under a roof that was in danger of collapse.
Neighbours were concerned that the building was already being taken down when an application was submitted to Brighton and Hove City Council last week.
The building – formerly occupied by the Hove Fitness and Squash Club – is next to the greyhound stadium, in Nevill Road, Hove.
Conservative ward councillor Ivan Lyons, who represents Westdene and Hove Park, raised the matter with the council’s planning enforcement team because he was concerned that demolition work had started.
Councillor Lyons said: “The first that residents or I knew about the demolition of the site was when bulldozers turned up at Hove Fitness Club last weekend and seemed to be demolishing the building.
“We noticed that the site had been ringfenced between Christmas and new year. Having liaised with the planning department at Hove Town Hall, it was a surprise to them as well.”
The gym owners moved out in October 2023 after the RAAC – or reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete – was found in the building.
RAAC was widely used in the 1950s and 1960s but has been regarded as dangerous since a roof collapsed without warning at a Kent primary school in 2018.
Hove Fitness moved to St Heliers Avenue, in Hove.
The dog track owner, Entain, parent company of Ladbrokes Coral, applied to demolish three interconnected buildings on Thursday 9 January.
The company said that asbestos removal work was already under way in preparation for the demolition work.
Entain said: “We have applied to Brighton and Hove City Council for permission to demolish the unsafe building at Nevill Road.
“While preparatory internal work such as asbestos removal has begun, demolition will only commence when council approval has been granted.
“The building is a current health and safety risk as the RAAC panel roof is being temporarily propped up to prevent collapse and there have been several incidents of unauthorised entry and squatting on the site.”
To view and comment on the application, visit the planning portal on the council’s website and search for BH2025/00049.
The squatters were in the gym? Thought that was the idea. Now the only squats performed are by the greyhounds!
So a dangerous building gets demolished and a councillor is ‘concerned’. Why?