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An application for a mixed-use redevelopment of residential and non-residential buildings and regeneration of a brownfield site was refused by councillors at a special Planning Committee on 22 May 2024.

Following a long debate, the officer's recommendation ‘minded to grant’ was not carried out, with 3 councillors voting in favour of the scheme and 7 voting against it. 

Read more about the Planning Committee decision.

On 7 October 2024, St William announced in the media that it had submitted an appeal to the Planning Inspectorate following the refusal of the application.

On 5 November 2024, the Planning Inspectorate announced that an inspector had been appointed and that the appeal would take the form of a public Inquiry. The appeal ran for 8 days from 18 March 2025 in the main council chamber in Brighton Town Hall.

The documents relevant to the appeal are available on the Planning Register, search for reference number BH2021/04167.

About the appeal public inquiry

Planning Appeals are the responsibility of the national Planning Inspectorate, which is an executive agency sponsored by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, entirely independent of the council.  Information about the planning appeal process and how to contact the Planning Inspectorate can be found on their website. 

In this case, the Secretary of State for Housing has called the application in meaning that the Planning Inspector will make a recommendation to the Secretary of State, but the decision will be made by the Secretary of State.

The webcasting of inquiries is not required by the Planning Inspectorate and a webcast of the inquiry is not available. 

Result of the inquiry 

After the inquiry the Planning Inspectorate will make a recommendation to the Secretary of State who will then make the decision to uphold the refusal of the application, or to approve it. The Inspector will usually make their recommendation within two months, after which the Secretary of State will make their decision.  

The appeal decision will be put online on our Planning Register (search for reference number BH2021/04167) and we will update this page on the website. Those who have registered for updates from the Planning Register will be notified, and it will also be available on the national Planning Inspectorate website.