A serving councillor and a former colleague have spoken out about the strain being placed on services by the number of new homes being planned and built without extra infrastructure.
Former Conservative councillor Dawn Barnett also criticised the housing mix, saying that too many new homes were flats and often unsuitable for families.
The predominance of flats meant a lack of gardens for children to play in which, she said, was harmful to their mental health.
She also said that not enough was being done to ensure that homes were truly affordable for local working families.
Independent councillor Samer Bagaeen said that high-density schemes were being approved and built in places where the existing infrastructure was already struggling such as in Sackville Road, Hove.
Brighton and Hove City Council approved 306 flats for the top end of Sackville Road earlier this month next to more than 500 flats recently completed by Moda.
A block of more than 200 flats is now being occupied in a private build-to-rent scheme known as Hove Gardens, in Ellen Street, close to Hove railway station.
And work continues on almost 150 private flats in three blocks on the former KAP car showroom site, in Newtown Road, yards from the Moda scheme.
In addition, about 1,000 new homes are expected to be built in Toads Hole Valley in the coming years – and a battle still looms in Benfield Valley.
Mrs Barnett said: “No one seems to be accepting that we haven’t got enough doctors, we haven’t got dentists, we’re closing schools down and cutting classes and those will all come back up again.
“They’re not reasonably priced. They call them affordable but they’re not really affordable. What is needed is to build basic and let people put extra in when they are there.
“All the problems happening at the hospital are because they can’t cope. Some years ago, we had nine different hospitals in Brighton and Hove. Now we’ve only got one, incorporating the children’s and the eye hospital.
“There’s nothing else and they’re building thousands of homes. That’s why the hospital can’t cope.”
When NHS bosses announced the closure of Hove General Hospital, in Sackville Road, they promised that a new general hospital would be built on the allotments off Holmes Avenue.
The Hove General shut in 1997 and the building became flats, known as Tennyson Court. The NHS didn’t build a replacement general hospital. Instead, the allotments were replaced by Mill View psychiatric hospital and Hove Polyclinic.
Councillor Bagaeen, a professor of planning, objected to the council’s plans for the old trading estate at the top of Sackville Road because of the density of the scheme, saying that the existing infrastructure was struggling.
He was particularly concerned because the original planning application for the site was for a “care community”, with different needs to people living in family homes.
The decision was made six weeks after the government overturned the council’s Planning Committee to allow almost 500 flats on the Brighton gasworks site, saddling the council with a bill well into six figures.
Councillor Bagaeen said: “I appreciate that the Planning Committee had to approve this application, given it was reeling from the gasworks site one and could not take another risk of denying permission.
“The promoters are now blaming the Building Safety Regulator for possible delays. But it has to be pointed out that these delays are not new and have been common knowledge in the housing sector for more than a year.
“So starting to blame the regulator after permission was secured – but not highlighting it before – is disingenuous at best.
“Arguably, had the developers not increased the number of units, they would have ended up below the safety regulator’s threshold.”
The scheme is a joint venture between the council and housing association Hyde – and less than a fortnight ago the council’s cabinet approved an extra £2.6 million for the £100 million budget.
A report to the council cited increasing costs, including inflation in the construction sector, but also said that the potential delay in gaining approval from the Building Safety Regulator was a factor.
Labour councillor Gill Williams, the council’s cabinet member for housing, said: “We are in the middle of a housing crisis and, as a city, desperately need to build new genuinely affordable homes to provide good-quality, safe and secure housing for local people.
“New developments should be welcomed rather than criticised. They will help us achieve our goal of delivering thousands of new homes for our city – something we know is a priority for many local people.
“The Sackville scheme, for example, is 60 per cent new council-rented homes which will be allocated to people already living in the city.
“The shared ownership element will also be predominantly marketed to local people.
“Not only will this help alleviate some of the local housing pressures but will also reduce the likelihood of developments of this type adding strain to services like GPs because most will already be registered with a service.
“Other developments, such as Preston Barracks and Moulsecoomb Hub also include new GP facilities and investment in other important infrastructure.
“Developers are also required to make financial contributions towards local infrastructure which help fund improvements to healthcare, schools, transport and other essential services.
“All large-scale development in our city is shaped by our City Plan which was published following consultation with residents, local businesses and stakeholders including the NHS.
“Brighton and Hove desperately needs more homes and this council is committed to delivering them.”
Not seen much sign of progress on the Newtown Road development recently. Financing issues?
The developer was a scam artist, used illegal workers and has gone bust. No journalists have picked it up. All AI these days.
Since Cllr Lyon recently used this same weak line of attack, this appears to be the current approved party line. The Cons are trying to turn infrastructure strain into a justification for not building homes. It’s a neat little rhetorical move, but it collapses the moment you look at actual evidence.
Population isn’t rising in a way that would explain services collapsing; high density doesn’t break GPs or hospitals, underfunding does; the “flats harm children’s mental health” line is…let’s be charitable…not evidence-based; infrastructure is, in fact, being provided via S106/CIL and onsite facilities, they’re just ignoring that to make their argument work; and the bit about “thousands of homes but one hospital” is just nostalgia dressed up as analysis. Put simply, it’s a false cause fallacy.
What the evidence-base does tell us is that not building homes drives up homelessness, overcrowding and the loss of young families from the city, not if someone has access to a private garden over a park.
That’s an interesting fact you found online. How does that specific statistic apply to this unique scenario?
Yes.
I thought Southern Water had concerns about drought in our area.
So what about the water supply to these thousands of houses and flats which have recently or will be built.
Still as long as the council gets its council tax in why should they care.
My understanding is that developments have to meet higher water-efficiency standards than older homes, and they pay infrastructure charges that go straight into upgrading the water network.
Or into shareholders pockets or boardroom bonuses?
That’s another interesting fact you found online. How does that specific statistic apply to this unique scenario?
I’ve not offered a statistic here, Rupert, so your question doesn’t make sense.
When was the last time a local authority built housing estate was completed? Was it the regeneration of Whitehawk?
Council estates stopped being built once thatcher ripped the backside out of social housing… It wasn’t even the selling off of the housing, it was the fact councils didn’t get to keep the money made, so couldn’t then reinvest. If they had we wouldn’t be in this situation. Similar story with everything thatcher did, if they had bothered to put some regulation to the 1980s fire sale, this country would be so much richer today.
yes 1980s
There is no infrastructure …
Let’s unpack that:
Hove station, 10 mins walk away
Additional bus stops, already in place and new 3X route up and running.
Local schools are currently under subscribed.
Green space- it’s next to hove park.
Water, Brighton & hove have not had a hose pipe ban in years.
Power- Rampion
Hospital – currently being rebuilt, A&E to be rebuilt next year…
Basically nonsense argument by a few boomer nimbys
Rebuilt? hahahh its the same old. No parking so no access for disabled or older people. No beds. Long, long waits. Not everyone can cycle in or get the bus with a sick child before you mention that!
Why not. Buses service every single part of our city. Only about 10% of hospital visits are emergencies, the rest is pre planned treatment. So yet again, dumb argument that has zero overlap with some much needed flats being built. FYI the vast majority of disabled people don’t have blue badges. Stop being such an entitled reptile
Has Dawn lost the plot? Hove general hospital was a tiny, dilapidated victorian single glazed mess. We now have an enormous county hospital with a helipad.
Does she really think it’s more efficient to run 7 old run down hospitals, or 1 modern one on a single sight?
It’s not 1970
Philosophical question- is it a helipad when a helicopter has never been allowed to land on it ?
How rude! Have you lost the plot? Enormous with no parking for disabled and long waits. Have you read the CQC report?! One modern one with half the beds- GREAT. Also the helipad doesnt work.
No Dawn, but I did read that 30% of blue badges are fraudulent. So maybe it’s time for you to focuse your attention on that, rather than some weird Nimby nonsense about flats and infrastructure, two things you clearly don’t understand judging by the article
Go on Dawn Barnett-She isn’t right on what’s she saying-but she has a Great Voice
Infrastrucutre is built naturally to meet demand.
What we don’t do, is force 20 and 30 yearolds to stay in their parents spare bedrooms forever. They need to be able to move out.
As usual, generation ME ME ME want all the benefits of the state pension and NHS, but refuse to build homes for their children and grandchildren.
Because of this, it is inevitable that they will have to be means tested for the state pension, and NHS access will be offered free of charge only to the poorest of pensioners without any assets to fall back on.
People sacrificed a lot in the post war consensus of mass house building and the creation of the NHS and a state pension, and then the beneficiaries of those sacrifices are selfishly pulling up the ladder. Mathematically it won’t work, so in the mean time we’ll tax the state pension, private pensions and unearned income at the same level as earned income.
Then we’ll have to start reducing the state pension by at least 50% for those who have private incomes above £10,000 in retirement, then tapering off to nothing above £20,000.
They had every opportunity to give back to society, but all they have done is take, and throw two subsequent generations under the bus who will now never own a home, and will be subject to extortionate rents until the day they die. So you’ll forgive everyone under 50 for not caring at all what the boomerati want, think, believe or attempt to impose. It’s quite clear by now that they should be not seen, and not heard.
Dawn cares about her community, you may not agree with her on everything, but your misogyny, classism and ageism is showing people. What have YOU done to help others?
That apply here. No one has criticised Dawn because she’s a woman; people are responding to the substance of the argument she’s making. Pointing out where claims aren’t supported by evidence isn’t misogyny, just basic scrutiny.
That does not apply here.*
Scammer using illegal workers has gone bust . No one reports on it though!
“And work continues on almost 150 private flats in three blocks on the former KAP car showroom site, in Newtown Road, yards from the Moda scheme”.