A £260 million scheme to build more than 800 homes on a trading estate has been rejected.

The proposal included 581 flats and 260 retirement flats as well as shops and offices on the Sackville Trading Estate in Hove,

Brighton and Hove City Council’s planning committee yesterday ignored recommendations to approve the scheme, which includes tower blocks up to 15 storeys.

Neighbours sent in almost 200 objections, with parking pressure among their concerns.

Frith Road resident Clare Bennett spoke on behalf of her neighbours in the Artists’ Corner area to the west of Sackville Road.

She said the community had tried to engage with the council but felt they had not been consulted.

She said: “We do not feel we can accommodate any further visitors resulting from this development.

“There is a busy junction and there is only one way in and one way out which is not sufficient.”

Goldsmid ward councillor Jackie O’Quinn spoke about the Old Shoreham Road crossroads with the Sackville Road and Nevill Road.

The Labour councillor said: “Sackville Road is one of the busiest in Hove. This will have an impact on the surrounding area. There will be a great deal of chaos there as there was last year when the traffic lights were down.”

Hove Park ward councillor Samer Bagaeen, a Conservative, spoke about the limited amount of affordable housing proposed as part of the scheme.

Ten per cent of the 581 flats would be available at “affordable” rents although the independent District Valuer Service said that the scheme might not be viable if it included affordable housing.

Councillor Bagaeen said he was worried about waste management, saying that Cityclean – the council’s rubbish and recycling service – already had problems reaching some homes to empty people’s bins.

Councillor Gill Williams commended developer Moda Living for paying the Brighton and Hove living wage but asked if people on that wage could afford homes there.

Moda director James Blakey said yes, adding that “per bedroom rates” worked out at £354 a month and the company did not ask for deposit.

Rent would include access to the gym, internet and reduced electricity costs, he told the Planning Committee.

Former council leader Daniel Yates asked how much it would cost for a unit rather than per bedroom.

Mr Blakey said that a one-bedroom flat would be rented for about £1,250 a month, a two-bedroom flat for £1,600 and a three-bedroom flat for £2,100.

Councillor Yates said that people would have to sleep three to a bed to afford it – and with 25 per cent off it would still not be genuinely affordable.

Councillor Bridget Fishleigh said she was disappointed at the lack of affordable housing and urged councillors who stood for 50 per cent affordable housing in their manifesto to “knock it back”.

She said: “Let’s try and do something with this site and knock it back. Let’s get something 100 per cent renewable and have something we can be proud of.

“This could be anywhere. We don’t want it in Brighton.”

A majority of the committee voted against granting planning permission for the application.

It was refused on the grounds that too many of the flats would be studio flats, the height and massing of the tower blocks would harm the heritage of the area, the lack of amenity space and the lack of daylight in the buildings for older people and the lack of work space.