Empty offices could make way for 144 flats in central Brighton

10:10am Monday 25th February 2013 in News

Flats for more than 140 students could be built on vacant offices.

Developers have presented plans to build the University of Brighton accommodation on Richmond House, off Lewes Road, Brighton.

They claim the 144 flats, which will include no space for car parking but 186 cycle spaces, will help move students out of family properties and ultimately help the city’s housing shortage.

Locals near the 0.16 hectare site on the corner of Richmond Road and D’Aubigny Road are now being asked for their views on the proposal, which has been submitted to Brighton and Hove City Council.

The application is from Matsim, the firm behind the stalled Hove Square redevelopment near Hove Station.

It said: “Richmond House is a large two storey building of no architectural merit which has been empty for a number of years.

“The building would be demolished to allow the redevelopment of the site.

“The new use would be more in keeping with the residential nature of the area.”

A decision is expected to be taken by mid-May. For more details visit www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/planning.

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Comments(20)

El Duderino says...
10:22am Mon 25 Feb 13

forget cycle spaces, brighton students all have cars paid for by their satellite town parents

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Hove Actually says...
10:23am Mon 25 Feb 13

144 flats 140 students or should the headline say rooms?

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s&k says...
11:00am Mon 25 Feb 13

Far too big a development for a densely populated residential area. Reject.

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Hector66 says...
11:02am Mon 25 Feb 13

why has the hove square project stalled?

thanks.

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inadaptado says...
11:32am Mon 25 Feb 13

El Duderino wrote:
forget cycle spaces, brighton students all have cars paid for by their satellite town parents
I had always wondered why so much hatred to students. I get it now, it's a class thing. Thanks for the clarification.

By the way, you are a terrible troll.

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RottingdeanRant says...
11:47am Mon 25 Feb 13

If there is no parking provided then this will cause a problem as a significant proportion of the students do own cars.

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rolivan says...
12:06pm Mon 25 Feb 13

So why build more offices when City centre ones are left empty.It is residential buildings and schools that are required throughout the the City.

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alexthearchitect says...
12:09pm Mon 25 Feb 13

The proposal is grossly oversized for this location and will have a detrimental effect on this already overcrowded edge of the Roundhill conservation area. It will also overshadow and overlook the new flats currently nearing completion to the north of the site. The proposal includes no provision for cars or drop off / servicing of the building. The design is really very poor and has no respect for the surrounding terraces and will block off a significant sightline to the South Downs from Roundhill. This really is not what is needed at the end of a quiet, narrow residential street. A far better location would be the large former barracks site, next to the university.!!!

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RottingdeanRant says...
12:40pm Mon 25 Feb 13

alexthearchitect wrote:
The proposal is grossly oversized for this location and will have a detrimental effect on this already overcrowded edge of the Roundhill conservation area. It will also overshadow and overlook the new flats currently nearing completion to the north of the site. The proposal includes no provision for cars or drop off / servicing of the building. The design is really very poor and has no respect for the surrounding terraces and will block off a significant sightline to the South Downs from Roundhill. This really is not what is needed at the end of a quiet, narrow residential street. A far better location would be the large former barracks site, next to the university.!!!
But the students don’t want to live near to the uni!

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Maxwell's Ghost says...
12:47pm Mon 25 Feb 13

Of course it's a class thing, they behave like pigs.
Last week I walked past a student house in my street at night and three lads were in a top bedroom window spitting on people walking by and giggling.
I hammered on the door and told idiots I would be calling the student officers at the uni.
Yu can't believe what goes on until you live near them. Giant babies breast fed by over obsessive mothers until they are in their 30s.
Get them out of family communities and into student digs where they can live like pigs together.

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Dealing with idiots says...
12:53pm Mon 25 Feb 13

Pools of vomit and noisy sods in the middle of the night waking us all up. That is what the Upper Lewes Rd is like already. Sticking such a large playpen in the middle of a quietish residential area is pure stupidity. If you build it can I have a discount on my council tax for the loss of value on my property please?

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speakerscorner says...
1:19pm Mon 25 Feb 13

About time the council have come up with a decent idea. Solve a lot of housing problems.
Obviosly the recently published comments are from people who were never students - judging by the grammar!!!

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speakerscorner says...
1:20pm Mon 25 Feb 13

speakerscorner wrote:
About time the council have come up with a decent idea. Solve a lot of housing problems.
Obviosly the recently published comments are from people who were never students - judging by the grammar!!!
About time the council have come up with a decent idea. Solve a lot of housing problems. Obviously the recently published comments are from people who were never students - judging by the grammar!!!

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billy goat-gruff says...
1:31pm Mon 25 Feb 13

Cycling students? that's a double whammy for the Argus moaners to get apoplectic about! Part of the deal with converting the old Co-op was that cars would be discouraged.

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Sarah Booker Lewis says...
1:51pm Mon 25 Feb 13

Hector66 wrote:
why has the hove square project stalled?

thanks.
Here's the story from last November: http://www.theargus.
co.uk/news/10053305.
Rift_with_council_ha
lts____Hove_Square__
__scheme/

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Hoarder12345444 says...
2:05pm Mon 25 Feb 13

inadaptado wrote:
El Duderino wrote:
forget cycle spaces, brighton students all have cars paid for by their satellite town parents
I had always wondered why so much hatred to students. I get it now, it's a class thing. Thanks for the clarification.

By the way, you are a terrible troll.
Not entirely true. The students that live in the larger Hanover and Coombe road areas are mostly, very annoying. Very noisy during the weeks and weekends. I have lived and stayed in the Coombe road area and it was pretty bad, actually very bad. They are mostly very selfish young people who dont care about neighbours. They might be hard working, but they don't respect other people. A lot of people get themselves through uni by getting a job. The ones that get it all paid for, I don't care about at all. They'll be the ones in for a big shock when they have to suddenly work for a living!!

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fredflintstone1 says...
2:24pm Mon 25 Feb 13

It's time the universities here specified that those living in this type of accommodation, with no on-site parking available, undertake not to have cars as part of their tenancy agreement.

If Oxford & Cambridge can apply this rule to their students, why not Sussex and Brighton Universities?

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gingersandy38 says...
9:00pm Mon 25 Feb 13

Why are we always hearing about accomodation for for students. When there are people desperately trying to get a place to rent in brighton and hove. Maybe something should be sorted for couples who need a place, instead of having to live with their parents. Would really help if some of the properties that have been let go, could be seen to and single people or couples who have lived in brighton and hove for many years could be given a place to live.As there are the properties available. Private renting is normally too expensive and some properties are not well repaired. Brighton and Hove people need to be considered also.

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Maxwell's Ghost says...
6:48am Tue 26 Feb 13

Ginger sandy there are 30,000 students in the city with about 10,000 taking up houses and flats in the city so by building student digs, these homes can be freed up for local young people to move out of home and into hopefully rebuilding communities fractured by transient populations of students who have wrecked our streets and their slum landlords who have let the city's homes run to ruin.

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RottingdeanRant says...
8:34am Tue 26 Feb 13

Maxwell’s Ghost - your 'slum landlords who have let the city's homes run to ruin.’. I s a very silly statement. The majority of Landlords do maintain their properties as it would be stupid to do otherwise given that for most it is their life savings. There are a few less scrupulous landlords but they a few and far between and the council has the powers to deal with them.

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