A ROW has erupted over plans to replaced a much-loved social club with housing.

Brighton and Hove City Council has outlined plans to buy the Valley Social Centre in Whitehawk after the club’s trustees said it was not financially viable.

The council hopes to turn the neglected space into housing if the Whitehawk and Manor Farm Community Association agrees to sell it.

But some Whitehawk residents are not happy about the plans.

Janice Butcher, who has lived near the centre for more than 40 years, said closing the centre would “leave a hole in our community”.

“My son, who is now a young man, has attended here as a baby for toddler groups,” she said.

“I’ve held many of his birthday parties in the large hall.

“Closing this will not just leave a hole in our community but a gap in the hearts of the people who live here.”

Campaigner Daniel Harris said residents had planned a public meeting at the centre for December 1.

But the club’s trustees had told him they would not host the meeting.

“The meeting will still go ahead and, as residents are saying, they will just gain entry to the centre,” the 36-year-old Kemp Town resident said.

“The trustees use the claim no one has shown interest in the club as a defence line, but this is not true.

“Resident after resident has confirmed this.

“The issue is the closed-off attitude towards the residents the centre was fundraised by.”

Council leader Nancy Platts said in a joint statement with her fellow East Brighton councillors that buying the centre would “keep it in public hands”.

“The trustees contacted the council to ask if we were interested in buying the site,” she said.

“The accounts for 2018 show the Valley Social Centre to be in deficit.

“If the site is purchased, we would engage with the community at an early stage.

“The council would look to redevelop it as community space and council housing.”

The club’s three trustees include Conservative city councillor Mary Mears.

They were contacted for comment but did not respond in time for publication.