Plans to build 500 homes at the Brighton General Hospital site and a new health hub look like being revived after a meeting between council and NHS chiefs.
The news emerged as the Community Campaign for the Brighton General Hospital Site prepares to ratchet up its drive to make better use of the land.
Campaigners want all or as many as possible of the homes to be made available for low rents and for key workers, not least to support NHS recruitment locally.
The council said: “Brighton and Hove City Council met with Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust, to discuss the future of the Brighton General Hospital site.
“It was a collaborative meeting and both parties discussed their shared ambitions for the east of the city – improving health outcomes, providing a great patient experience, serving the local community, and tackling the chronic housing crisis.
“The council and the trust have agreed to work in partnership on the future of the site.”
Labour councillor Jacob Taylor, the deputy leader of council, said: “This is such an important site for the local community and the city as a whole.
“We’re very pleased that the trust has agreed to work collaboratively in developing plans for the future of Brighton General Hospital.
Labour councillor Ty Galvin, who represents Hanover and Elm Grove ward, said: “We’re keen to ensure that the site is used for the maximum benefit of residents – a new health hub, new affordable housing and improved public realm for the local population.”
Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust deputy chief executive Mike Jennings said: “We are currently revisiting plans for how we can redevelop the Brighton General Hospital site, including the provision of a new integrated health hub.”
Mr Jennings, who is also the trust’s chief financial officer, said: “We are committed to working in partnership with the city council on the future of the site.
“We were pleased to hear that councillors are supportive of the principle of a new health hub and look forward to working with the council on the next steps.”
The council has previously set out its hope that 500 to 700 homes could be built at the site although the NHS has also considered building a health hub there and somewhere for step down beds.
Initial plans were shared with the community in 2018 but there were concerns about the costs of any homes to be built.
And just over a year later the scheme was put on hold as the NHS and councillors grappled with the coronavirus pandemic.
Former Green councillor David Gibson said that the site should be kept in public ownership and called for some or all of the land to be transferred to the council at no cost or for a modest sum.
This would leave more money for housebuilding and enable rents to be kept low.
Mr Gibson said that the council gave the land to the NHS – free – when the National Health Service was set up in the 1940s.
He is a member of the Community Campaign for the Brighton General Hospital Site and was one of the members to speak at the most recent meeting of the full council.
The campaign, which is supported by several housing, health and community groups, told councillors: “Our vision is that the Brighton General site should be publicly owned and redeveloped for public benefit.
“We note that the site was originally gifted to the people of Brighton. It is a precious public asset for the city, which we believe should be developed for public benefit.”
The campaigners said that they were opposed to any attempts to “privatise” the site although public bodies such as the council and NHS often sell part of a site to private developers to help fund any public housing.
Given the challenges of enforcing the council’s policy of requiring private developers to build a reasonable percentage of affordable homes, land sales to enable new council housing could be a better way to achieve its aims.
In July, the government announced a £39 billion “social and affordable homes programme” which could help fund the sort of plans that the council has for the Brighton General land.
The site is in the Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven constituency. The Labour MP for the constituency, Chris Ward, hopes that the government will give its backing to an ambitious scheme there.
Mr Ward said: “I’m delighted to see the council and the trust working together on this site. The site has been stalled for far too long and represents a huge opportunity.
“I will be making the case to government for an ambitious project on this site – one that benefits Brightonians for generations to come.”
Good luck with that. The council (and MP) need to know that the rehousing the health services is not going to fund itself if there is not enough government money available and there aren’t sufficient proceeds from the housing to fund the health hub. The aspiration for affordable homes is welcome, but if it means the NHS can’t afford to build for health services then nobody gets anything.
I really hope the NHS, council and central government can find a way through, and find a good solution knowing what the constraints are. This has the potential to deliver neighbourhood health services (in line with government policy) and much needed new homes – but only if stakeholders work in the real world and not the one they’d like to inhabit. I really hope they can pull this off.
As yet The NHS I’d not privately owned and funded by Taxes and as such should not be treated as such. There is money it’s just a case of what is the priority it is spent on and who should shoulders the taxes to pay for it.
“Community Campaign for the Brighton General Hospital Site” is an awfully long winded way of saying “greedy developers”
Blaming “greedy developers” is a maddening misunderstanding of the housing crisis. Prices are high because there are not enough houses for the people who want them, where they want them, so the prices are bid up. In a more functioning market, high prices would encourage developers to build more houses and the prices would come down. But for many reasons – councils who don’t benefit from new houses but have to provide services, a planning system that enables the few to block housing for the many – we don’t have a functioning market. Greedy has very little to do with it.
Living in a flat where many people have likely died from illness and workhouse conditions. Hmmmm lovely.
The inhabitants of what used to be St Francis in Haywards Heath don’t seem to have aproblem…
Not one blade of grass should be given (or sold) to any developers. This land was gifted to the PEOPLE of Brighton. Building new, truly affordable homes, especially for key workers would cost less than the i360 and at least the rents would show a return. Also any right to buy should be precluded in any rental agreements or by establishing a covenant on the land.
There are methods of asset locking land as you describe. Unfortunately, I don’t believe the council are allowed to discriminate to just NHS workers, despite the good intention.
You misconstrued my definition of key workers but I get that you don’t understand the nuance! lol
That’s not nuance, that’s semantics, but nice try. The nuance of my point still stands, but I get you don’t understand semantics or nuance.
Excellent, build as many flats as possible and make it a preference that flats are offered to NHS staff. If they leave the NHS then they should have to move out within 6 months. Keep the rents reasonable, and no option to purchase. This would free up loads of properties across the city where private landlords are no doubt charging through the nose to fund their retirements, instead of working.
Maybe an idea with the health hub to have an urgent mental health treatment centre, take some pressure of A&E and lower the unbelievable suicide rates in the city.
Is it not a listed building?
The Arundel Building I believe is a G2 listed. Means they’d have to work within those constraints for that section at least.