Latest approval in 'new generation of council housing'

Planning permission has been granted for 29 new council flats in east Brighton.

The development, next to the Wellsbourne Health Centre in Whitehawk Road, is part of the council’s New Homes for Neighbourhoods programme.  This aims to build at least 500 new council homes on council-owned land, to provide much-needed affordable housing in the city. 

It was approved at yesterday’s planning committee (Wednesday 3 August), sitting in Portslade. 

Homes will be allocated to people on the housing waiting list.

Accommodation will be provided in two blocks, faced with brickwork.  The west block is three storeys high containing three one-bed units and eight two-beds.  The east block would be a mix of three and four storeys, with 18 homes.  There would be six one-beds, five two-beds, and seven three-beds. 

All flats will have balconies. There will be 12 parking spaces and 30 cycle racks.

Construction is expected to start in the autumn and such a scheme would typically take around 18 months to complete. At least 20 per cent of the construction workforce would be local.

Planning committee chair Cllr Julie Cattell said:  “It’s a pleasure to approve this application, part of a new generation of council housing many will welcome. These offer a decent standard of accommodation and it’s good to see the council setting an example in making better use of its precious land.”

New Homes for Neighbourhoods

The New Homes for Neighbourhoods programme is aiming to build at least 500 new council homes by 2020.

People currently on the council’s housing register, including council tenants who need to move to a home that meets their current needs, can apply for homes built under the New Homes for Neighbourhoods programme, through the council’s Homemove choice-based lettings system.