Unused space delivers new family home

An innovative project is putting small or ‘hidden’ spaces to good use to provide much needed new council homes. 

A 3 bedroom family house in Bevendean is the latest built through the council’s Hidden Homes project and more are planned.

The project is giving a new lease of life to small pieces of land and spaces on our housing estates and in blocks of flats, to provide council homes for people on the city’s housing register.

Energy efficient new home

The new home in The Crescent, Bevendean, is built on land previously part of the garden of a neighbouring council house.

When the home became vacant, the opportunity was taken to divide the garden to provide the additional home.

The new house is designed to be energy efficient, with an air source heat pump heating system and solar panels to help reduce energy bills. 

Other Hidden Homes developments

Work is underway to convert disused spaces at Saxonbury and Highleigh flats in Ashton Rise, Brighton, to provide 2 extra flats in each block. The new homes are due to be completed in the autumn.

A new 3 bedroom house is to be built in Godwin Road, Hove, using part of the garden of an existing council house. Work is due to start next month.

And a storage area at a block of flats on the Bristol Estate in Brighton is going to be converted to provide an additional home.

Any conversions of underused spaces in blocks are done following consultation with residents.

Eight additional homes have already been created on the Bristol Estate by transforming former drying areas and bin rooms in blocks of flats.

The Hidden Homes project has now delivered 27 new homes since it began in 2019. These include:

• Manor Hill, Whitehawk – a former office was converted into 2 flats and a new house built alongside
• Swallow Court, Whitehawk – a former office was converted into 3 flats

Under our wider redevelopment programme, we’ve also converted 2 buildings in Oxford Street and Tilbury Place, both in central Brighton, to provide 25 new council-owned temporary accommodation flats.

Increasing the supply of council homes

Councillor Gill Williams, chair of the Housing & New Homes committee, said (tbc):

“With huge demand for more housing in the city, we are committed to providing more council homes, and our Hidden Homes project is one of a range of innovative ways we are doing this.

“We’re making sure we make the best use of pockets of land and redundant spaces on our estates of and providing to provide good quality, comfortable and sustainable new homes.

“Hidden Homes focuses on small sites, but all the developments add up and every single extra house and flat makes a huge difference to the residents for whom it becomes home.”

We’re also building more council homes on council-owned land through our New Homes for Neighbourhoods building programme.

We recently purchased a block of 38 new flats in Whitehawk Way, Whitehawk to provide additional council housing.

And new council homes are also being provided through Homes for Brighton & Hove, a partnership between the council and affordable housing provider, Hyde. The partnership is also providing shared ownership homes, available through Hyde.