Family homes or a pub?

An easy choice you say with more than 20,000 on the council housing list and 24,000 more homes needed by 2030?

What if that pub had a long and proud history dating back to the Victorian ages and was of a distinct style synonymous with Brighton?

What if there was a strong public campaign to retain it as a pub and to help it flourish again after years of bad management?

Then the scales even out somewhat.

And what if that pub is designated as having community value worth retaining by a council, a judge and the Government?

All of this adds up to quite a headache for city councillors set to decide next Wednesday on the fate of the Rose Hill Tavern in Brighton.

It will be a test of their judgement and also a test of this government’s own ACV scheme – is it just window dressing or a real attempt to listen to the wishes of the community?

We do need more housing but scrapping what we have is not the answer.