The economic recovery is under threat in Brighton and Hove from the coalition government’s planning reforms, business leaders were warned this evening.
Councillor Amy Kennedy, the Green deputy leader of Brighton and Hove City Council, said that the reforms could make it easier to turn offices and commercial premises into housing.
This would make it harder for firms to find premises during the recovery.
She said that Brighton and Hove also faced housing pressures, not least with its big student population. But she does not believe that turning shops, offices, workshops and factories into homes would solve the problem in a satisfactory way.
She said that the council would address jobs and housing issues in four options papers tomorrow (Wednesday 5 October).
They would look at housing targets, student housing, employment policy and park and ride.
She urged business leaders – and the wider population – to look at the options and contribute to the debate about how the finite land in Brighton and Hove is used.
Councillor Kennedy was speaking as the City Employment and Skills Plan was published and its key messages presented at the new Amex Community Stadium in Falmer.
