Plans to convert an office building into flats are recommended for approval when they go before councillors next week.
The application by Portland Construction (Sussex) Ltd, owned by Barry Kerrison, 63, and Victoria Kerrison, 48, is to turn Keasley House, at 10 Franklin Road, Portslade, into three flats.
A report advises Brighton and Hove City Council’s Planning Committee to approve the application to convert the former Deibel and Allen Solicitors office at a meeting next Wednesday (4 March).
The application would convert the ground floor and the loft into two-bedroom flats, with a one-bedroom flat on the first floor.
In December, the company obtained “prior approval” to convert the detached building into two flats.
If the plans are approved, six cycle parking spaces would also be provided on site.
A single-storey commercial unit at the back of the site is expected to remain as it is.
An anonymous objector sent two letters which included a complaint about scaffolding going up in December, saying that it had adversely affected grassroots football.
The objector’s identity is unavailable because, unlike most other local authorities, Brighton and Hove City Council redacts commenters’ names.
The objector wrote: “For three years, I have operated a grassroots football development programme on this site.
“This has been a vital ‘social build’ for the neighbourhood, providing mentorship and elite-level sports progression for local youth (specifically coaching a local player, Coco, for two years).
“The ‘self-contained’ luxury flat strategy is blind to this existing heritage.
“Their construction has caused immediate social devastation, terminating a programme that fosters health, discipline and community cohesion.”
The Planning Committee is due to meet at Hove Town Hall at 2pm next Wednesday (4 March). The meeting is scheduled to be webcast.
Given the demographic of Hove and Portslade, conversion back to a family house would be much better.
The results of conversions to flats are there for everyone to see – closure of many schools due to the decline in young families.
The primary driver for school closures is an exceptionally low birth rate.
There seems to be an assumption that planning permission will be granted as work has already commenced on the conversion and is well under way!