44 new homes granted planning permission

Planning permission has been granted for 44 new homes in Brighton - 40 per cent of them affordable units aimed at local people in housing need.

Approval was given at the council’s most recent planning committee (on October 12).

Half of the homes – 22 flats – could be created at the site of the Preston Park Hotel in Preston Road.  Consent allows the main hotel building, dating from the late 1800s, to be converted.  Alongside, a three-storey 1970s extension can be demolished and replaced with a new building of similar size. 

The development would have 13 flats for sale on the open market and nine affordable homes.

A second development of 22 flats was approved on the site of former NHS and social services complex at 80 Buckingham Road, Brighton.  A Victorian terrace at numbers 76-79 will be converted back to housing, having more recently been used as mental health services offices and two flats.

Alongside, at number 80, a five-storey former social care building could be demolished and a new building of similar height created for 20 flats. 

Nine of the 22 new units would be affordable homes. There would also be a community room at the junction of Buckingham Street and Upper Gloucester Road.

Chair of the planning committee Cllr Julie Cattell said:  “I’m glad we were able to agree to these schemes.  Each will bring vital new housing, including meeting the council’s 40 per cent affordable housing target for larger projects. In each case the proposals would improve the existing Victorian buildings and enhance the look of both sites, each of which are in a conservation area.”

Artists's impression of how Preston Park Hotel would look as homes

Planning committee reports detailing each proposal are here on the council’s website among the committee’s reports