Landmark hospital set for demolition

9:38am Monday 1st December 2008

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Controversial plans to demolish a landmark Victorian building and replace it with 150 flats have been recommended for approval.

Last year, members of Brighton and Hove City Council’s planning committee rejected proposals for the Royal Alexandra hospital site in Dyke Road, Brighton, following expert advice.

Members of the panel are now being asked to approve a revised scheme at a meeting on Wednesday.

Officers have said the updated Taylor Wimpey development, which has been opposed by conservation groups, would make good use of the land and its design is appropriate for a conservation area.

The scheme includes 149 flats – down from 156 – a GP surgery and pharmacy.

A second planning application to demolish the current buildings, including the landmark former hospital, has also been recommended for approval.

This follows an investigation by the district valuer into whether the main building could be converted into flats which concluded it would not be economically viable.

The council’s conservation committee said it “reluctantly concluded that the hospital building is beyond economic repair”.

But campaigners continue to argue that the red-brick hospital building could be saved.

Architect Graham Towers, a member of the Montpelier and Clifton Hill Association, said: “As far as I am aware the applicant has submitted no evidence that the building is beyond reuse.

“No evaluation has been made of alternative schemes or of the condition of the building and the cost of repairs.

“Yet on the basis of the district valuer’s report the council has reached the conclusion that the building is beyond economic repair. It is my professional opinion that a great deal more evidence would need to be considered to support such a conclusion.

“Apart from any other considerations it must be borne in mind that, until shortly before Taylor Wimpey took possession, the building was fully functioning as a hospital.

“It strains credibility that we should now have reached a point where the building is beyond economic repair.”

David Brown, of Taylor Wimpey, said: “As well as its new design, the revised application proposal delivers substantial community benefits to the conservation area which will outweigh the building’s loss – including a much-needed GP surgery, affordable housing and a community garden.

“It is time to move forward to secure the future of this site and to provide these important community benefits.”

Some 99 letters have been received objecting to the scheme, including correspondence from the Victorian Society and the Brighton Society.

Almost 150 people have written in support of plans to relocate the Montpelier Surgery, currently in Victoria Road, to the Royal Alex site.

If the scheme is approved, Taylor Wimpey would be required to provide 60 affordable flats among the 149, a contribution of £200,000 towards education, an investment of £260,000 for open spaces in the city and £55,000 towards public art.

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