Cllr. Jackie O’Quinn

BH2025/01414 – Site Of Sackville Road Trading Estate

11th August 2025:

I am writing to support the application for 306 affordable homes across the northern plot at Hove Central which has been submitted by Homes for City of Brighton and Hove (the City Council and Hyde Housing joint venture company) and Moda. This is a very welcome application as the city needs more affordable homes and also social housing, which this development will offer. This is an ideal location for such homes as it is near to retail centres, recreation facilities and the rail and bus links are excellent. As such it will prove an immensely popular location with potential residents. The ‘Sackville Estate’ to give it it’s previous name, is also an area where there is a strong need for affordable and social housing as it is an expensive area for both rented and resident owned housing. It is reassuring that there is a strong partnership of the Council, Hyde Housing

and Moda involved in this application.

This application if granted will be the final phase of development of the Moda site and will thus enable the whole site to become a thriving community. The fact that there are a number of two and three bed homes available both in the affordable housing units, but also in the social housing units is also to be commended as the city urgently needs affordable accommodation for families. There were concerns about light penetration into some of the housing units, particularly on the lower floors in the social housing blocks but I understand that Hyde’s design team are looking to reorientate some of the internal layouts to increase the light penetration into these units. Any changes to improve the situation would be most welcome and will be discussed at the planning committee, I am sure.

Concerns have also been expressed about the impact on the adjacent highways – roads, pavements, bus stops as this is a very busy area, particularly at the Sackville Road junction. However, Hyde’s Highway consultant is meeting with the ATE team in order to resolve some of the issues and I am confident this will have been sorted before the matter comes to the planning committee in the Autumn. Parking will also need to have conditioned placed on it as there is no option to be part of a city parking zone due to the lack of any extra parking space in the area.

Overall, I have little hesitation in supporting this application as it will be a very positive addition to the housing situation both in Goldsmid Ward and beyond.