Policy SA7

Benfield Valley has its own special area policy in the Brighton & Hove City Plan Part Two – SA7.

The purpose of Policy SA7 is to facilitate the positive and ongoing management and maintenance of Benfield Valley’s open spaces, wildlife habitats and heritage assets. It will improve public access and connectivity with the surrounding urban areas and to the South Downs National Park, a key focus of the UNESCO Biosphere.  

Housing development

In recognition of the city’s wider housing needs, provision has been made in Policy SA7 for an element of residential development (for up to 100 dwellings) on two sites identified to the north and south of Hangleton Lane.

The council has identified these sites as having potential for housing development since 2014. This was in response to a requirement from the City Plan Part One examination for the council to undertake detailed assessment looking at the potential for housing development on appropriate sites within the city’s urban fringe. 

The council commissioned an Urban Fringe Assessment (UFA) which identified the two sites to the north and south of Hangleton Lane as having housing potential. In 2015 a further UFA assessed the sites in more detail.

Further landscape and ecology assessments were undertaken by the council in 2017 which indicated that the two sites had potential for a total of up to 100 dwellings. The sites were then taken forward as housing allocations in the City Plan Part Two within the context of Policy SA7, which provides a strategic framework for protecting the majority of Benfield Valley as open space and its enhancement and management over the long term. 

Several rounds of public consultation were carried out as part of the Brighton & Hove City Plan Part Two process and the plan was adopted following an examination by an independent Planning Inspector. Any application submitted for the proposals will need to ensure it can demonstrate that a ‘Biodiversity Net Gain’ of at least 10% above the existing level of biodiversity is achieved, in line with local planning policy. 

Ownership

The council owns the freehold of the site and it is currently leased out on a long lease to other parties.