AN MP has slammed the city council’s planning department after another major project hit the skids and warned the city was developing a bad reputation nationally.

Hove MP Peter Kyle has spoken of his anger at officers for creating “acrimony” between the council and Brighton and Hove Albion as the club's £16 million hotel was rejected for planning consent.

Fellow MP Simon Kirby said he was "disappointed" that councillors narrowly voted with officers' recommendations to reject the 150-bedroom hotel and offered his support should the club appeal the decision.

But Albion may not find an appeal straightforward with one planning expert telling The Argus the council had good grounds to reject the application.

Mr Kyle blamed officers for the setback in the plans which he said would bring considerable economic benefits to the city from an important organisation the council should be embracing.

The club has claimed they were denied a chance to meet with the council prior to this week's decision although council officers said an offer to meet had been made in November and recommendations to amend the design issued last summer.

Mr Kyle said: “The fact that acrimony has developed reflects really badly on how our planning department works.

“Our city is getting a really bad reputation, it is really damaging.

“Other councils look at forging partnerships with developers and go to extraordinary lengths and this is how we should be thinking.”

Club campaigner Paul Samrah said: “Clearly everyone needs to get round the table and sort out the modifications needed to get this built.

“It’s unfortunate that the club will now have to go through the extra time, effort and cost if they go to appeal or however they resolve it.

“The cost of planning for us is far in excess of what we pay for our players.”

Mr Kirby said: “I am very disappointed that this development was refused.

“As the local MP, I will be happy to support Brighton and Hove Albion if they decide to appeal the decision.”

Dr Sameer Bagaeen, head of the University of Brighton's planning school, said: “There are clearly valid reasons as to why the application was rejected on design grounds.

“My own view is that the design and appearance are not only not in keeping with the stadium, but are also of such bad quality as to justify the rejection.”

BATTLE ONGOING FOR ALBION HOTEL AFTER COUNCIL REJECTS PROPOSALS

THE fluctuating fortunes of Brighton and Hove Albion have been dictated by the whims of the planning process as much as action on the pitch over the years.

Restrictions on expanding the Goldstone Ground and a decision for its conversion into a retail park which many Seagulls’ supporters refuse to visit was followed by a long-protracted battle for Falmer and a rather swifter process for the £29 million training ground in Lancing.

Now we have the battle over the Albion hotel following Wednesday’s rejection by city councillors.  Falmer For All campaigner Paul Samrah said the club’s fortunes had been impacted by planning issues more than any other club in the country.

He said: “I think Over the last 35 years we must have submitted more than 50 applications and at least one every year for the last ten years.”

With such experience on planning matters, one might have thought this application would have been a breeze to get through – a hotel with huge economic benefits for the city, a potential lifesaver in a radiotherapy unit and the same award-winning architects KSS that drew up the stunning American Express Community Stadium.

One stumbling point has been the design, with the council unhappy that the club did not heed advice to amend their designs before they were submitted.

Executive director Martin Perry said that suggestions for green roofs would be completely out of place because the backdrop for the hotel would be the grey stadium and not the green Downs. 

Mr Perry also pointed out that the hotel would have the same material and cladding as the current stadium yet one planning committee member complained the hotel would be out of keeping with its surroundings.

The club was also accused of “arrogance” over its perceived inflexibility around 106 payments which all major applications must make to cover the potential local impact of the development.

Albion baulked at the council’s initial demands for £147,000 towards sustainable transport and a local employment scheme which were then reduced down to £28,000 and £17,000.

The sum is small fry compared to what the club has already provided in terms of transport improvements and employment training in the city.

As part of £11.25 million transport improvements to the stadium, the club and other transport bodies have spent £6 million on a new junction outside Southern Water in Lewes Road, a bridge over Falmer Railway Station costing £1.75 million, £500,000 on extending railway platforms and the £1 million widening of Village Way. 

The club said they were still happy to meet the additional £28,000 to make nearby bus stops more disability friendly but wanted to delay payment until contracts for the work had been agreed.

The council said this would be too onerous on themselves and said they could not make an special exception – not even for Albion. 

The club is more unhappy with the demands to pay £17,000 towards an employability scheme – pointing again to their considerable contribution to employment training in the city which would only grow with the hotel.

Albion officials believe the contribution is more appropriate for developers from outside Brighton rather than employers who are “part of the fabric of the city” and already spend more than £400,000 training their staff and support the Bridge Community Centre with £80,000 a year.

The club also has a hugely positive impact through its Albion in the Community charity arm.

Over such matters, The future of the club’s hotel plans now hang in the balance.

CONTROVERSIAL CATTELL LEADS A ‘FEISTY’ PLANNING COMMITTEE

The Argus:

JULIE Cattell was a controversial choice as planning committee chairwoman and she certainly has not enamoured herself with Albion fans with her casting vote.

As both a former council planning officer and a director with a planning consultant, no-one can doubt her knowledge but critics have complained that the combination of both poacher and gamekeeper is not the best for a planning chairwoman.

She is known for her abrasive presence on social media and was involved in a doorstep spat with Caroline Lucas’s husband while campaigning to become Preston Park ward councillor.

She certainly proved tenacious at Wednesday’s meeting, regularly cutting short Albion executive director Martin Perry, a fellow council candidate for Labour at May’s election, if she felt he was talking for too long.

Cllr Cattell spoke with pride that the committee was developing a reputation for being “feisty” and said she did not want to leave a legacy of mediocre design.

Since May, her committee has rejected around a quarter of planning applications, including going against council officers’ advice to refuse on eight occasions.