A public meeting has been called to discuss a revised planning application after one resident described it as “a middle finger to the local community”.
The meeting is expected to discuss proposals by developer SC Pelham Terrace to reduce the amount of space given over for community use on a site under development.
The original plans for the site, which included the old Lectern pub and a Costcutter convenience store, in Pelham Terrace, Lewes Road, Brighton, included a café and meeting space as well as 189 student flats.
The scheme, known as the Student Castle, looked like having the community space on the site set aside for a “Centre for Inclusive Music”.
The amount of space given over to community use was reduced significantly in one planning application for the nine-storey block.
Now another revised planning application appears to include no community space at all.
Coombe Road Area Local Action Team member Paul Rix has followed the scheme’s progress and has alerted neighbours to changes.
He said: “Their new strategy appears to be a middle finger to the local community.”
The developer was asked to comment but has not responded.
The public meeting is due to start at 7pm on Monday 9 September at Mithras House, in Lewes Road.
I hope the new Planning Committee kicks this out. The inclusion of this community space in the original planning permission was won after a hard fight. It’s a slap in the face for local residents if this new proposal is approved.
As a resident of Gladstone Place, I can’t understand why the council has allowed the sheer number
of new build student blocks around the Gyratory area. I hear Quickfit is next in line for demolition and
Enterprise point is lined up.
The £160pw average rent in the blocks is exploitative and only affordable to overseas students.
The Circus st monstrosities have just 28 ‘affordable’ flats included in the development.
There is a real lack of oversight here by the council.
The argument that the blocks free up HMOs houses for the general population is false, they all remain only available to students.
Notwithstanding this particular issue – and I am totally sympathetic to the comments above, I have never in all my life seen anything so hideous-looking externally as that block of student flats marooned in the middle of the Vogue Gyratory. One could ask why such buildings have to look like brutalist Soviet barracks or worse and why they were approved in that form.
If Stephen is correct about the average rent, then, yes, HMOs are generally cheaper per person. It would be interesting to know if there has been any reduction in the number of HMOs or HMO applications, following the building of blocks of student flats. I suspect not, as new applications for HMOs continue to appear on the Planning Apps website.
They need to start thinking about our children getting stabbed and the other issues but all they give a shit about is making money and allowing More people in the uk