Brighton College has revealed plans for more redevelopment of its campus.
The private school says it needs to build more boarding houses so it doesn’t have to buy up family homes in the areas and convert those instead.
It is currently appealing the refusal of its plans to knock through three houses in Walpole Road and create a 27-bed boarding house.
And any plans for similar developments in the future were made more difficult in January when the council approved planning guidelines for the conservation area which stated the residential nature of the streets around the college are an important part of its character.
Now, it says it wants to knock down its existing nursery school at St Mary’s Hall, just east of the hospital, and build a new four-storey building which would accommodate children from nursery to year six.
The former convent in Walpole Road which currently houses the college’s primary-aged children would be converted into a boarding house, with a new building put up to replace 20th century extensions. The site would have bedspace for 150 teenage children and boarding staff.
The college has not submitted plans to the council, but has launched a consultation with residents and published details on a dedicated website.
The website says: “The placing of younger children in a very residential area causes significant drop-off congestion for neighbours, blocking streets morning and afternoon.
“In addition, our lack of boarding space means that we have needed to purchase and convert local houses for accommodation, causing understandable concern for neighbours about the housing stock.
“Converting the convent site to boarding removes the drop-off congestion issues immediately, ends the need to find additional houses and also hugely reduces pupil noise.”
It adds: “Over the last fifteen years, Brighton College has worked through a masterplan to redevelop its campus.
“In doing so, it has shown its commitment to implementing first-class architecture.
“We recognise this has been disruptive to our neighbours but we hope that the benefits are also clear (including use of the site by local primary schools; preserving previously endangered historic buildings, and replacing high energy and high carbon buildings with ones that are all at BREEAM excellent).”
The website, which went live last Friday at 5pm, asks for comments no later than this Sunday.
It says it intends on submitting a planning application early next year, and if approved quickly, to complete both builds by September 2027.
Good to see that paying VAT hasn’t stopped their ambitions
Because they have 10 years back dated VAT now to collect.