Councillors vote to adopt City Plan Part 2
At a full council meeting on 20 October councillors voted to adopt the City Plan Part Two as part of the city’s development plan.
City Plan Part One was adopted in 2016 and sets out the strategic planning framework for Brighton & Hove to 2030. That includes new housing, employment spaces, improved infrastructure, and where new strategic development should go.
It includes the target of delivering at least 13,200 new homes by 2030 and a series of policies that address key issues for the city.
City Plan Part Two provides additional policies for managing new development and further site allocations, to help deliver much needed new homes and high-quality development.
Raising the quality and affordability of new homes
The plan includes policies to raise the quality of new homes and ensure that genuinely affordable housing is built, including in the rental sector.
It will support the delivery of new housing options for the vulnerable and elderly, ensure purpose-built student accommodation is of a good standard, and help better manage concentrations of houses of multiple occupation in the city.
Tackling climate change
City Plan Part 2 policies mean that major developments will now have to demonstrate they can achieve a measurable net gain in biodiversity, leaving biodiversity in a better state than it was before any development took place.
The plan also supports the move to sustainable and low emission transport to improve air quality. It has policies to tackle the risk of flooding and safeguard water quality, and to ensure the retention or planting of trees in new developments.
Councillor Elaine Hills, a member of the Environment, Transport & Sustainability Committee, said: “City Plan Part 2 brings in policies to support our goal to be carbon neutral by 2030 and to protect and enhance our green infrastructure. These new policies will ensure that development is more energy efficient and reduces carbon emissions as far as possible.”
Our video explains more about how City Plan Part 2 policies will help tackle the climate emergencies.
Supporting the local economy and high streets
City Plan Part Two supports the council’s priority for a City Working for all by establishing planning and development policies that will support our local economy and high streets.
It includes policies to help prevent local shopping parades from disappearing, by restricting the change of use of shops in important parades. Other policies help protect local community facilities and pubs from being converted to other use or demolished.
Councillor Marianna Ebel, deputy chair of the Planning Committee, said: “The City Plan helps local businesses to grow. We have limited land in the city and many demands on it. It is important that we ensure employment opportunities are created and residents can get the goods and services they need.”
See more about how City Plan Part Two policies support the local economy and high streets in our video.
Improving the quality of design and protecting our historic properties
City Plan Part Two promotes a design process that will help to create sustainable, attractive and successful places to live and work. This includes the introduction of minimum space standards and higher accessibility standards in new housing development.
Our video explains more about City Plan's detailed policies to protect and enhance the city’s unique historic buildings and gardens.
Addressing housing need
To help deliver much-needed new homes City Plan Part Two identifies more than 50 sites in the city for housing development. The majority of housing development will take place on brownfield urban sites, including larger brownfield locations such as at Brighton General Hospital.
The Planning Inspector for City Plan Part One instructed us to look at all opportunities to meet as much of our unmet housing need as possible. This included looking more positively at all opportunities - including the city’s urban fringe.
As a result, the plan also identifies 15 sites around the city’s edge or “urban fringe”. These account for just 7% of our urban fringe, meaning that 93% of these spaces will continue to be strongly protected.
Our video gives more information about how City Plan Part Two helps address our housing needs.
Development that is sympathetic to communities and residents
Councillor Martin Osborne, Co-chair of Tourism, Equalities, Communities and Culture committee, said: “The City Plan Part Two establishes the principle of a site being allocated for housing or employment. It also sets out an indicative number of homes and particular design, public realm and heritage requirements.
“However, decisions about whether a particular planning application should be granted are taken by the Planning Committee. They are determined in accordance with the development plan including City Plan Part Two, unless material considerations indicate otherwise.
“The policies in City Plan Part Two will now provide those who wish to object to a specific application that is not accordance with these policies with a stronger basis to do so.
“Having a good city plan helps ensure that new development is sympathetic to communities and residents and allows the city to thrive and grow in the future.”
How to view the plan
City Plan Part Two can be viewed on our website. Printed copies are also available at:
- Brighton Customer Service Centre, Bartholomew House, Bartholomew Square, Brighton, BN1 1JE
- Hove Customer Service Centre, Ground Floor, Hove Town Hall, Norton Road, BN3 3BQ, and
- Local libraries (available as soon after 24 October 2022 as possible).
