By Tim Ridgway
Latest TV
Hundreds of homes, thousands of jobs and flood defences that are built to last – that is what Greater Brighton will deliver.
The pledge came as local leaders from the political, business and education sectors met at the first gathering of the Greater Brighton Economic Board.
The board met at the Amex Stadium – Brighton and Hove Albion’s home – in Falmer today (Tuesday 20 May).
The hope is that by coming together, those representing the districts from Worthing to Newhaven and Brighton to Burgess Hill can bring hundreds of millions of pounds of investment into the area.
Despite government ministers signing off on the deal as recently as March, those sitting on the board said that some change was already starting to happen.
But Brighton and Hove City Council leader Jason Kitcat told Latest TV that it would take up to five years for the area to develop as a whole.
Councillor Kitcat said: “I think what you will see is more promotion of the city region, more bids to government for cash on a city regional basis, transport getting more connected over time and investment being more smartly managed over the area.
“In the next 12 months we will probably start to see projects like New England House moving forward.
“But it will not be until the three to five year perspective that you’ll get a clearer sense of Greater Brighton as a city region working together in a whole stream of areas.”
The Greater Brighton City Deal started a six-year programme of investment but the signing of the city deal document was just the start of the work.
Now, those sitting on the board must convince the government to back some of the projects that they have put on their wish list.
In Brighton and Hove there are a number of key sites.
Work on one of these – turning the New England House tower block, off London Road, into a flexible workspace and a hub for the digital sector – is expected to start next year.
The £25 million project already has a pledge of about £5 million from the government but the rest must be found either from the private businesses or the council.
Other projects, such as building on the site of Preston Barracks and the development of the bio-innovation sector at Sussex University, require more work.
Ian Parkes, of the Coast to Capital Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), said that it was bidding to the government for money to help unlock schemes such as these.
He said with the help of £145 million of public and higher education investment, he felt that about £1.3 billion of private sector investment could be generated across the Greater Brighton area.
This would result in 20,000 jobs, 11,000 homes and 495,000 sq m of employment space.
With the government not yet committing any money to the LEPs after 2015-16, he told those attending that there was a need to get a “spade in the ground” as quickly as possible.
If they failed to convince the government and investors that projects were ready to go, then the chances of winning any money was slim.
Another focus will be Newhaven, where the board claims there is “huge potential for employment and key needs”.
But before building can begin, flood risks need to be managed as some plots are currently affected by water once every two years.
Thanks to the City Deal, about £9 million has been allocated towards improving the flood defences –most of it from the Environment Agency. It is hoped that making land more secure will open up previously dormant sites.
In turn, it is claimed that this could create up to 7,000 jobs and bring nearly £200 million into the area.
Flood defences are also an important part of the work in Shoreham, with £25 million earmarked to help encourage development in the harbour.
Moving north, it is hoped that funding can be found to create a new science and business park in Burgess Hill. The scheme would also involve the building of up to 5,000 homes.
For those businesses already set up, the Greater Brighton board will have access to a £1.8 million pot to support firms and interns.
Some of Jason Kitcat’s in-house critics charge him with being “managerial”. I would expect Cllr Kitcat to seek employment in the area written about here, maybe with Coast to Capital or somewhere in that mix as I am sure he spots growth of jobs opportunity within the Greater Brighton designation.
Some of Jason Kitcat’s in-house critics charge him with being “managerial”. I would expect Cllr Kitcat to seek employment in the area written about here, maybe with Coast to Capital or somewhere in that mix as I am sure he spots growth of jobs opportunity within the Greater Brighton designation.