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Latest News
- Government dumps Beetham Tower plans
- Council boss vows to plough ahead with new homes
- College to be rebuilt with Government cash
- Deal signed to transform old market
- Earth Ship lands at Marina
- MP's Falmer questions
- Delay on King Alfred decision
Government dumps Beetham Tower plans
The final nail has been driven into the coffin of the plans to put a 42-storey tower block next to Brighton station.
Proposals to build the Beetham Tower near the station received fierce opposition from residents when they were unveiled.
But now the scheme seems doomed after the Government backed locals and councillors and rejected the plans.
Ruth Kelly, the Secretary of State for communities and local government, agreed with Brighton and Hove City Council that plans for the tower should be refused because the structure would have a detrimental impact on the surrounding area.
In April 2005 the council's planning committee voted unanimously against the application on the grounds it would damage the character and appearance of the area, having an impact on listed buildings and conservation areas. They also said there was a lack of outdoor recreation space in the plans.
The Beetham Organisation appealed against the council's decision and a public inquiry was held in November 2006.
Yesterday, after taking the advice of a Government planning inspector, Ms Kelly told the council she supported its decision and the reasons for it and said the tower would not provide any additional regeneration benefits over and above those in the previously agreed masterplan for the New England Quarter.
She added that the 400ft building would be alien to the form of Brighton.
Plans for the tower included 146 flats and a public rooftop garden, while the rest of the site would have contained a four-star hotel and a pedestrianised square.
The developer claimed a publicly accessible rooftop garden just below the tower's highest point would provide better views than the i360 planned for the foot of the West Pier, while the square at the foot of the tower would create a safe public space and provide a natural route from The Level, up Ann Street, to the station.
Martin Randall, city planner for the council, said:
"I'm pleased that the secretary of state shares the council's view that a very tall landmark building is inappropriate on this elevated site.
The council now looks forward to working with the owners of the site to secure an appropriate development, including the required pedestrian link from London Road to the railway station and the restoration of the green corridor that runs through the New England Quarter."
Green councillor Keith Taylor, who represents St Peter's and North Laine ward, spoke against the application in the public inquiry.
He said:
"Together with local residents, I breathe a sigh of relief this wholly unwelcome project has been binned.
The massive tower would have loomed above the historic North Laine and dominated the city centre's skyline.
Ruth Kelly has done well to uphold the wishes of local people and the city council."
No-one from the Beetham Organisation was last night available for comment.
From The Argus, 17th May 2007
Council boss vows to plough ahead with new homes
A new town hall leader has pledges to build an extra town the size of Burgess Hill to attract key workers.
Campaigners have launched websites and raised petitions to halt new housing developments in Haywards Heath, East Grinstead and Burgess Hill.
But Gordon Marples, the new leader of Mid Sussex District Council, vowed to forge ahead with redeveloping the towns and said an extra 14,000 homes were needed for police, nurses and teachers who could no longer afford to live in the area.
Coun Marples, was made leader after his Tory colleague Patrick Shanahan lost his seat in the local elections two weeks ago.
Edward Matthews was named leader of the opposition Liberal Democrats following the departure of Coun Graham Knight.
Both have pledged to continue with developer Thornfield's plans to give each town an expensive facelift.
Protesters launched a new website and a petition to save leafy Muster Green in Haywards Heath last week.
They said Thornfield's masterplan for the town, recently sent back to full council, contained proposals to build a four-storey apartment block at the site.
Coun Brian Hall has created a composite picture of what the conservation area would look like.
But Coun Marples said he would add his name to the petition to save the site.
He said:
"I understand there is a petition and I could well sign it myself.
Muster Green is a beautiful spot and as the plans from the architects come forward we have to be mindful of it.
Developing on Muster Green is not something I'd allow.
But the next four years are going to be judged on the ability of all parties to deliver on the planning that has been put in place and is still ongoing.
I think there is a growing recognition within the three towns that something needs to be done to bring them into the present century.
There are always people resistant to change but we want them to look at their towns through their children's eyes.
Without investment what will they look like in 20 years time?
The big up-coming issue is undoubtedly going to be the housing needs. Up to 2026 we're talking about 14,000 new homes across the district - the equivalent of a town the size of Burgess Hill.
Something has to happen about the supply side of housing, particularly affordable housing.
We need these homes. Prices in Mid Sussex have been going up by £4,000 a month. How do we get the police, doctors and nurses homes?"
Protest groups have also sprung up in East Grinstead to try and fight the onslaught of 2,500 new homes in their town.
The Post Referendum Campaign wants many to be built nearer Crawley and not in the ancient woodland of Tilkhurst Farm.
Coun Matthews said:
"I think the really contentious issue here is the East Grinstead Action Plan.
We have wildly differing views there and some will want the town to stand still, bottled in aspic, and unfortunately life isn't like that."
Coun Marples added:
"The infrastructure has to come first. These issues were very much on the doorstep of the local elections."
From The Argus, 16th May 2007
College to be rebuilt with Government cash
A sixth form college is set to undergo a £34 million revamp.
The principal of Varndean College has unveiled ambitious plans to knock down almost all of its buildings in Surrenden Road, Brighton, and replace them with modern facilities capable of housing more than 1,600 pupils.
All that would be kept of the existing college would be the historic front half of the main building overlooking the Surrenden campus and the quadrangles and cloisters immediately behind.
Principal Phil Harland said:
"We have a one-off opportunity to transform this college into a facility for the future. We are determined to make sure we do the job well."
He said Varndean had submitted a funding application to the Government's Learning and Skills Council (LSC).
The body is in the middle of a programme of investment which has sparked a regeneration of further education in Sussex.
More than £135 million is expected to be spent on the three colleges in Brighton.
City College Brighton and Hove has announced plans for an £80 million redevelopment of its campuses in Pelham Street and Wilson Avenue and Brighton, Hove and Sussex VI College (BHASVIC) has proposed a £25 million scheme to modernise its site in Dyke Road.
Mr Harland said the proposals for Varndean would provide modern teaching spaces and facilities for all subjects.
They include a new sports hall and a drama studio, which will open into a quadrangle and dark rooms and rehearsal rooms which will be be insulated by being dug into the hill around the college.
Varndean will introduce the International Baccalaureate next year and wants to extend the courses it runs for adults and teenagers who have not gained the GCSE grades they need to start A-levels.
Mr Harland said:
"What we have here is good but it is out-dated. The college was built in 1931 and had bits added to it over the years which means some of the facilities are not ideal. Some of the rooms are too small and we have quite a lot of classes taught in temporary huts. Students expect better now."
The new building would be set into the contours of the hill and designed to minimise impact on the surrounding area.
Mr Harland said its footprint was only slightly larger than the current site. The cluster of huts at the rear of the college and the Hutchins wing would be demolished to make way for the new buildings but no playing fields would be lost.
If it is given the go-ahead it would be built in stages, starting in June 2008 and be completed by 2010.
Mr Harland said sustainability was one of the key priorities in the design brief.
The plans include an extension to the Downs View Link College on the same site, which provides education and care for 16 to 19-year-olds with physical and mental disabilities. A new block, including a gym and hydrotherapy pool, would provide for up to 100 under 25s with severe learning difficulties and disabilities.
Facilities like the drama studio would be shared between the colleges.
Varndean has begun a consultation with residents and will be hosting a series of open days in early June.
From The Argus, 8th May 2007
Deal signed to transform old market
A city centre £100 million eco-development is one step closer.
Partners working to regenerate the old municipal fruit and veg market in Circus Street, Brighton, have signed a development agreement.
The carbon neutral scheme, dubbed Grow Brighton, will bring together 180 "car-free"
homes with offices, a Brighton University library, a home for South East Dance, a public events square, shops, restaurants, cafés and a creative industries market.
It is claimed the regeneration of a run-down part of the city will create up to 1,400 jobs and bring in half a billion pounds in the next ten years.
A community wind turbine, roofs covered in plants, rain water collection and irrigation and a solar power plant will form a major part of the scheme.
The partners are Brighton and Hove City Council, developers Cathedral Group, Downland Housing Association, part of Affinity Sutton, and the University of Brighton.
The architects are McAslan and Partners, responsible for the renovation of De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill.
From The Argus, 4th May 2007
Earth Ship lands at Marina
A pioneering eco-village has been granted planning permission.
Brighton and Hove City Council has approved the application for the UK's first residential Earth Ship at Brighton Marina.
The settlement of 16 homes would deal with its own waste on site, generate its own electricity and collect rainwater.
Co-director of Biotecture Daren Howarth said the next step will be to raise finances and to bid for the land between Marine Drive and The Cliff in East Brighton.
He said:
"I am delighted with the move. It has been a really long haul.
I would like to say a huge thank you to all the people who took part in the feasibility study, the officers who have been very patient and the councillors who went out on a limb when they approved the prototype at Stanmer Park in 2002."
From The Argus, 25th April 2007
MP's Falmer questions
An MP is pressing the Government to name the date for its decision on Brighton and Hove Albion's Falmer stadium plans.
David Lepper, Labour MP for Brighton Pavilion, has tabled Parliamentary questions to the Government department headed by Ruth Kelly, the Cabinet minister responsible.
The MP is also asking the Government to reveal what warnings it has received about the effects of delaying the planning decision.
Mr Lepper has specified his questions should be answered on Thursday, the tenth anniversary of Albion's final match at its former Goldstone Ground.
That morning, campaigners from Falmer for All will join MPs to deliver postcards to the Department for Communities and Local Government's headquarters at Eland House in Bressenden Place, London.
From The Argus, 24th April 2007
Delay on King Alfred decision
A government decision on the controversial King Alfred development has been delayed indefinitely.
Brighton and Hove City Council gave the £290 million Frank Gehry development the go-ahead last month, but Ruth Kelly, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, must also approve the plans.
An announcement was expected on Monday but the Government Office for the South East (GOSE) has said that Ms Kelly needs more time to consider the proposal.
The GOSE acknowledged receipt of information from the council on April 3 and was expected to take 21 days to respond.
But the Government office has issued an Article 14 notice, saying a final decision will take longer than expected.
Formal planning permission cannot be granted without Ms Kelly's approval.
City council environment director Jenny Rowlands said:
"The letter is a formality issued when more time is needed.
It confirms what everyone knows - that permission cannot be issued without Ms Kelly's approval. Nothing can be read into it.
Our planning committee voted for the scheme on March 23 subject to the agreement of the Secretary of State.
We just have to be patient and wait for that."
From The Argus, 24th April 2007
