Hopes of building genuinely affordable homes on the Brighton General Hospital site have been given a boost.
A junior housing minister, Sharon Taylor, known as Baroness Taylor of Stevenage, said that the government was committed to “maximising the social value” when surplus public land was sold.
Baroness Taylor was responding to a question from former council leader Steve Bassam, known as Lord Bassam of Brighton.
Lord Bassam asked the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government whether the government would consider a joint report with the council on providing 500 new homes on the site.
The Labour peer also asked the government to start discussions about selling the hospital site to the council to deliver new social housing and an NHS health hub.
Baroness Taylor’s response, sent on Monday (27 April), said: “The government is committed to bringing forward surplus public land for housing and to maximising the social value achieved through public asset disposals.
“Homes England is engaging with Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust to explore options for the redevelopment of the site.”
Lord Bassam’s question followed a motion by Labour councillors at a meeting of the full council in March.
The motion, which received cross-party support, asked officials to assess “the viability of acquiring the site and developing social housing, either on a standalone basis or via the joint venture with Hyde”.
Lord Bassam said: “Back in the ’80s, I campaigned to get this site turned over to social housing when it was clear its use as a hospital would end.
“Now we have a Labour council and government that recognises its social value, we need to ensure we jointly plan to build the homes Brighton needs.”
Community groups including Brighton and Hove Citizens, the Hanover and Elm Grove Communities Forum and the Brighton and Hove Housing Coalition have also urged the council to push for social housing on the site.
The Labour deputy leader of Brighton and Hove City Council, Jacob Taylor, spoke in support of building social housing at the site before the Community Campaign for the Brighton General Hospital Site meeting in February.
Councillor Taylor said: “It’s encouraging that the government is committed to the principle of social housing on these kinds of sites and that Homes England are actively in discussion with the trust.
“This Labour council believes deeply in social housing – and for secure, affordable accommodation for local residents who have too often been priced out of their hometown.
“I genuinely think we could see something amazing on this site and it remains a big priority for us.”
The grade II listed former workhouse dates from 1867 and became a hospital in the 1930s. It was rebranded Brighton General Hospital when the council handed it over to the NHS in 1948.
A push to use the site for housing and as a health hub gained momentum eight years ago but plans were paused during the covid-19 pandemic.
There are concerns that the NHS will seek to sell the site to the highest bidder which could lead to premium-priced homes being built there that many local people would not be able to afford.
So, the staff who work on the site will be forced to travel to another site further away, adding time and expense to each day. A block is also a listed building, so let’s hope they keep it as it is! It’s an awfulnidea, in my opinion.
Agreed. There are lots of solid buildings on that site as well as the Grade II Listed Arundel building which could be attractively repurposed if no longer used as a hospital. A complete waste of money and calamity to the environment to demolish the whole site as well as losing an iconic city landmark which has been viewable from many parts of the city for nearly 200 years.
Great words now let’s see some action!
I go to the Brighton General every 3 months for continuing cancer treatment,
and always have good ,friendly service. Leave it alone
Agreed. The Sussex County is already overcrowded and struggling to give proper care to all those unfortunate enough to find themselves there. Being a constant building site for almost a decade surrounded by noise and dust has not improved things. Worthing and Haywards Heath are faring much better in terms of reputation and patient outcomes.
Then you’ll be happy that the cancer centre is currently being built to address that capacity!
This is not about transferring NHS services away from the BGH site. All involved (campaigners, NHS and council) agree that there should be a new modern NHS building, probably where the disused ambulance station now is. All or most of the current services would continue there. The remainder of this very large site, much of which is unused and in disrepair, could then be used for housing and facilities for the community. So the question is just whether the housing will be expensive private flats, or much-needed social housing. The council has been talking a good talk on buying the site for social housing, but this is the first real sign they are serious about asking the government for the money needed to buy and develop site. So this story is very welcome, but there’s a long way to go. Let’s see if the government and council can actually make it happen!
Agree 100% with you Tom
The way NHS care is provided has changed over the years and people doen’t seem to have clocked that.
The days where we needed huge wards of TB patients have long gone due to the development of medications.
Same with many mental health hospitals – no longer needed due to medications so people don’t need housing in institutions that didn’t actually provide must care.
Same due to techniques like key hole surgery mean people are in and out in in a day or two rather than weeks. So the same number of beds are no longer needed.
Excellent point as usual!
Also, there’s a greater push towards early intervention and community-based care, so conditions and problems don’t reach the state where they need a hospital. Pharmacy First is one such example, as well as the Health Hubs.
So many hospitals in the city have closed down and been redeveloped, the Brighton General needs to remain a hospital and is ideal for non-surgical services and step down/convalescent beds, which are almost non-existent except in oversubscribed and overpriced nursing homes, which are not licensed for full medical care. The Sussex is ridiculously small to serve the whole county and both the parking and the A&E access is appalling. There has has been a horrific rise in unexplained baby and adult patient deaths at the Sussex in the past few years – so it has a poor reputation – possibly because it is trying to handle too many patients. None of the new buildings have particularly improved anything. If anything, the new buildings have even more wasted space and endless corridors than what they replaced, and certainly no architectural cohesion! What the NHS need to be doing is moving away from private hospital use and spaces unregulated by the CQC such as the AMEX as medical premises when they were never designed for that. It needs to refocus on refurbishing existing NHS premises so no one is sent to the Cricket Ground for a knee Xray and related ridiculous outsourcing, which also make accountability more difficult when medical errors are made.
You need to be careful Tracy saying a site isn’t registered with the CQC when it is. if you have any concerns about a potentially unregistered site you should check with the CQC.
The company who provides scans at the AMEX is registered and regulated by the CQC
https://www.cqc.org.uk/provider/1-127659656/registration-info
I was referred there for a CT scan last summer and it was all very professional and I had no concerns about going there at all. It was also a lot quicker than waiting for an appointment at the RSCH.
As to the Brighton General site NHS care will still be provided there but since the whole site isn’t used for NHS care these days it makes sense to find other uses for it and council housing is a good use of it.
The days when people spend weeks in hospital are over because we now have techniques such as key hole surgery so people can be in and out in days not spending weeks in a hospital bed. The use of NHS sites has changed over the years. Wards that were full of infectious diseases patients are no longer required due to the development of medication they can take at home for example.