More than 1,000 objections to Patcham Royal Mail site plan

People in Patcham are calling on the council to listen to their worries about the proposal to build a new delivery office in Patcham Court Farm, Brighton.

If approved, the site would also include new storage facilities and a vehicle maintenance facility to replace the current offices in North Road in Brighton and Denmark Villas, Hove.

A total of 1,075 objections were made during a council consultation on the proposals, including from Brighton Pavilion MP Caroline Lucas.

Campaigners claim the development would cause an 200,000 additional journeys through the village annually, as well as potentially putting the city’s water supply under threat of pollution and contamination.

Rebecca Kimber, who co-chairs the Patcham Against Royal Mail campaign, said: “Residents, professional bodies and our MP have spoken loud and clear - Royal Mail’s plans for Patcham are unsafe and inappropriate.

“To receive over 1,000 objections shows the scale and strength of feeling against these unpopular plans.

“We are now calling on the council to listen to experts and citizens and refuse Royal Mail’s plans for Patcham.

“We need to find better alternatives to this ill-thought-out and reckless bid.”

Caroline Lucas has expressed concern at the “disproportionate impact” the proposed development would have on people living near the site.

She said that “enormous questions”, including on flood risks and transport plans, remain unanswered and she expressed her backing for Patcham residents opposed to the proposals.

An artist's impression of the first plans for the delivery office at Patcham Court Farm

Royal Mail has defended the proposal and said the development will improve working conditions for staff and improve the efficiency of deliveries across Brighton and Hove.

A spokesman for Royal Mail said: “We have listened to feedback from residents and as a result made extensive amendments to the current proposal.

“This has included changing the entrance to the site. This means HGVs will enter via the A27 Patcham interchange and vehicles will only be able to exit via a right turn, preventing them from entering and exiting Patcham.

“We have also included more protections to the aquifer and added trees and plant life to reduce the building’s visual impact.

“The site itself will be built out of natural materials inherent to the Patcham Conservation Area and rises only slightly higher than the existing buildings.

“This proposed development is a large investment and an excellent opportunity to create a new, environmentally friendly and purpose-built delivery office, which will greatly improve working conditions for our staff, safeguard 360 jobs in Brighton and Hove and improve the efficiency of our deliveries.

“At the same time, moving to Patcham would free up two large central Brighton and Hove sites allocated for mixed-use and housing development in the council’s city plan.”