Outcry over plans for 15-storey flats in Brighton

11:50am Monday 18th February 2013 in News By Kimberly Middleton, Acting chief reporter

Anston House in Preston Road, Brighton Anston House in Preston Road, Brighton

A giant shadow could be cast over parts of Preston Park if the redevelopment of a tower dubbed Brighton’s ugliest building gets the go-ahead.

Multimillion-pound plans to redevelop Anston House in Preston Road would see the nine-storey building replaced with flats in blocks up to 15 storeys high.

The building on the 1.5-acre site has been derelict for 20 years. There are iconic portraits in the windows of four of the floors.

New drawings submitted to Brighton and Hove City Council show the 231 flats and offices would cast shadows over Preston Park in the winter.

A public meeting is being held to discuss the development on March 5 from 8pm at St Luke’s Chuch in Old Shoreham Road.

Fliers recently dropped to neighbours said: “We welcome the demolition of nine-storey Anston House. However is this the right building for this location?”

'Grotesque monster'

The meeting is being supported by The Brighton Society, Prestonville Community Association, Preston and Patcham Society and Residents of Dyke Road Drive.

When the plans were submitted in July last year Simon Gawthorpe, of Urban Splash, the regeneration firm which is leading the project, said: “The location of the building is in one of the ‘tall building corridors’ identified by the council and it is the right place in which to build a fairly dense residential development.”

Objector and Dyke Road Drive resident Allan Grainger said: “Anston House might be an ugly building but we don’t want to replace it with a grotesque monster.

“We don’t want Brighton to become a mini London with lots of skyscrapers.

“We’re not against development but we want it to be appropriate.”

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Comments(22)

leobrighton says...
12:07pm Mon 18 Feb 13

I think they look great and barely taller than the trees

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george smith says...
12:08pm Mon 18 Feb 13

why was it not turned into a school and community centre, the old folk in Preston park area have no where to go

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Kiddon72 says...
12:14pm Mon 18 Feb 13

By making these flats social housing or supported accomodation it would help tremendously vulnerable families in Brighton.

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Atticus says...
12:38pm Mon 18 Feb 13

Nimby

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Wiggsy says...
12:41pm Mon 18 Feb 13

15 storeys is hardly a "Skyscraper" - will it really cast a "giant shadow" over the park?

My question were I living in the area is whether the area will support underground parking for the residents and not have the car free approach that the New England Quarters had to adopt.

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Tailgaters Anonymous says...
12:48pm Mon 18 Feb 13

By my count the existing building(s) reach 10 storeys: a further 5 will hardly cast a 'giant' shadow that is significantly greater than the present structures.
Alarmist headlines do little to provide balance especially where nimbies are in song!!

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censored says...
12:54pm Mon 18 Feb 13

It's not really taller than the adjacent office buildings, and would hardly cast a shadow given it's on the South-West corner of the park set back quite a way on the other side of the road.

Scaremongering.

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Thumper Hove says...
12:57pm Mon 18 Feb 13

I hope the council ignores the usual set of Nimbys and goes ahead - we desperately need more affordable accommodation in the city.

Allan Grainger needs to calm down abit, the plans are hardly for a grotesque monster that he is stupidly claiming. I presume his 'appropriate' development will be a completely unrealistic couple of country cottages rather than something appropriate for the city.

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bug eye says...
1:09pm Mon 18 Feb 13

the only problem I can see is the design, a mish mash of materials and styles. all the trend for closed in balconies and punched metal screens are ugly, just look at the monostrosities around edward st. I would like to see more glass to let light through and use of natural materials such as stone and metal, not ugly repro brick. I dont think every building needs a medical centre community hall and office space. Retail and gyms would be good too and great planting relaxing spaces. unfortunately the requirement for so many social housing flats cheapens every scheme and therefore the design and density, producing carbuncles of the future, and our children.

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Fight_Back says...
1:28pm Mon 18 Feb 13

The Nimbies are lying ( nothing unusual there ! ). My garden faces due west ( as does Anston House to Preston Park ) and in the winter the sun sets over the sea so no shadow will be cast then. In the summer maybe but it will only hit the edge of the rose garden NOT the main park. Lies, lies and yet more lies from people who don't want to see development.

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Maxwell's Ghost says...
1:37pm Mon 18 Feb 13

Goodness George you don't really think the residents of Preston Park who voted in a green councillor want poor people in their manor.

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s_james says...
1:47pm Mon 18 Feb 13

I don't think there's anything in the article which justifies the use of the word "outcry" in the headline.

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StyleCop says...
3:19pm Mon 18 Feb 13

There's a big hill behind these flats - anys shadows cast will be late in the winter months, and only then if it's sunny...

NIMBY-tastic...

They certainly look better than whats there currently... and considering the total hash they made of (illegally) clearing the site 4 years ago (and subsequent death etc... ) then it's about time this place is cleared and redeveloped - it is, after all part of the main gateway into the city and is currently a disgrace.

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Freeloaders says...
3:24am Tue 19 Feb 13

censored wrote:
It's not really taller than the adjacent office buildings, and would hardly cast a shadow given it's on the South-West corner of the park set back quite a way on the other side of the road.

Scaremongering.
Could not have put it better myself.Lets hope work starts very soon.

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Jimmy Stewart's Imaginary Rabbit says...
7:37am Tue 19 Feb 13

censored wrote:
It's not really taller than the adjacent office buildings, and would hardly cast a shadow given it's on the South-West corner of the park set back quite a way on the other side of the road.

Scaremongering.
Exactly. It's the usual Brighton phobia of new development and the belief that if you leave a site derelict for long enough then the ideal scheme that will please absolutely everybody will magically appear.

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Dezire says...
8:22am Tue 19 Feb 13

It's only 3 stories higher than the ugly concrete pile of rubbish that is already there!

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inadaptado says...
9:37am Tue 19 Feb 13

I think Allan Grainger should submit his own project and do something with that area himself or shut the hell up.

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fredflintstone1 says...
11:02am Tue 19 Feb 13

Maxwell's Ghost wrote:
Goodness George you don't really think the residents of Preston Park who voted in a green councillor want poor people in their manor.
By the way, where is Cllr Amy Kennedy these days?? If she is still off sick, after more than a year, surely she should resign her seat?

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Thumper Hove says...
1:15pm Tue 19 Feb 13

fredflintstone1 wrote:
Maxwell's Ghost wrote:
Goodness George you don't really think the residents of Preston Park who voted in a green councillor want poor people in their manor.
By the way, where is Cllr Amy Kennedy these days?? If she is still off sick, after more than a year, surely she should resign her seat?
I hope she's not too sick to submit expenses claims. Kitekats's mob forced an election in Hove when a Conservative councillor was ill, why is this women different (other than she's part of the Greenies). Although I sympathise with anyone unfortunate enough to be ill, if a councillor is ill for a year then they should be replaced with someone who is able to do the job.

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Hove Actually says...
11:06am Wed 20 Feb 13

There are iconic portraits in the windows of four of the floors..........?

The Argus really does spoil every story with this type of utter claptrap. A few of the windows have been covered by children's drawings which the area will benefit from when they are removed

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stanfordsteve says...
3:26pm Wed 20 Feb 13

Having had a good look through the plans, on balance I am in favour of this development. My flat faces the front of the block at an angle where I can see the entire fenced area along the pavement and part of the side by the BT building. I think a shadow study is to be added to the plans. But I can't see that much shadow can be cast across the park at all, at mid summer or winter. Most of the other blocks along Preston Road don't cast shadows across Preston Park and this block will not be all that high. The floors are tapered towards the rear as well, so shadows there should be less deep. The shadow study should enlighten us.

I'm not sure about vehicle access, though. It looks like a good number of bicycle places are in the plans. But cyclists coming from the south, along London Road, could find it difficult to cycle all the way. As for the aesthetics, they seem a little unexciting to me. There would be quite a few objections way if something a little too exciting was being put forward.

If people want this site regenerated then they should look at the plans properly and give constructive feedback to the planners. Local residents have been given Neighbour Reference numbers for comments to be submitted so should darn well use the opportunity to give their views.

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teaboy says...
8:11am Thu 28 Feb 13

Er... check the plans. It shows the shadows reach right over to Preston Park Avenue AND beyond - and the shadow plan is conservative.

Only a little higher than the trees? Look again. It'll be the fifth highest building in the city - higher than the hideous Holiday Inn on the seafront - and with 231 flats crammed onto the space where two houses once stood - and flats of only 43sqm you're looking at a slum in the making.

This is all about the government cow towing to get-rich-quick developers in the desperate hope that they can get the economy moving.

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