Block of flats could be built in Davigdor Road in Hove

Stonegate Homes wants to build 39 flats on the north east corner of a plot in Davigdor Road that includes P&H House, the former offices of the grocery wholesaler Palmer and Harvey.

Stonegate previously applied for permission to build a six-storey block of 43 flats on the same site.

But the company, based in Dorking, Surrey, lodged an appeal after Brighton and Hove City Council was unable to decide the application within the legal time limit.

The council previously granted permission for the developer to convert P&H House into 78 flats.

The council previously approved plans for the site

The latest plans, which include space on the ground floor for shops or offices, are due to go before councillors next week.

Planning officials support the £14.5 million scheme – and a report to the council’s planning committee said that other tall buildings had been approved at nearby locations.

Examples included a four-storey extension to the roof of the neighbouring Montefiore Hospital and high-rise blocks of flats on the Peacock Industrial Estate, in Davigdor Road and in Lyon Close.

Neighbours sent four letters objecting to the scheme and called it an overdevelopment of the site that would “dominate the street scene”.

One objector, whose details were redacted by the council, said: “The proposed design is poor and height of the development is inappropriate and overbearing in relation to Montefiore Hospital and Preece House.

“The increased traffic and access and egress from the site is a major safety concern.

“There are several developments under construction in the area and this proposed development would have an unacceptable adverse effect on residential amenity and restriction of view.”

The former office building used to house grocery wholesaler Palmer and Harvey

The Brighton and Hove Conservation Advisory Group asked the council to reject the scheme because of the effect on two locally listed buildings.

The plans would harm the setting of the Montefiore Hospital, the group said, and St Mary and St Abraam Coptic Orthodox Church, formerly St Thomas’s.

The advisory group also said that the plans would adversely affect views from Montefiore Road, Addison Road, Old Shoreham Road and St Ann’s Well Gardens.

Stonegate Homes said: “The location and proportionality of the building has been carefully considered with reference to the surrounding buildings and provides an attractive addition which is cohesive in use with the wider site development.

“The design process has been rigorously and carefully considered, with a number of designs tested in order to create an appropriate solution that respects the existing built form and delivers a high-quality scheme which is not visually intrusive.”

If the plans are approved, 10 of the 39 flats would be required to be classed as “affordable” homes – seven for rent and three for shared ownership.

Palmer and Harvey was one of the city's biggest employers

The report to the planning committee allows for a “commuted sum” instead which would mean Stonegate paying towards the cost of the council building affordable homes elsewhere.

The site has been vacant since Palmer and Harvey collapsed in 2018 with debts of £700 million, having been placed in administration in 2017. More than 400 people lost their jobs.

The planning committee is due to meet at Hove Town Hall at 2pm next Wednesday. The meeting is scheduled to be webcast on the council’s website.