Residents have reacted angrily to plans to build two additional floors and an outside lift on a block of flats.

Castlemere Developments wants to construct 20 flats and a detached lift above the existing block Homeleigh in London Road, Patcham.

The building currently consists of 56 apartments over four storeys.

But residents have expressed fears the development will “block out the sun” and that current infrastructure cannot support the extra homes.

One commenter said: “Mostly it would adversely affect our right of light. It would block out the sun for much longer during each day and throughout the year.

“We and all our immediate neighbours do not want this to proceed.”

Another said: “The site already cannot support enough drainage and residential parking as-is.”

A current resident living on the top floor of the apartment building said: “In the event the roof needs to be removed what compensation or provisions will be made for homeowners and what will happen with private tenants such as myself and others? In the event we have to move we could not afford to rent elsewhere in Brighton meaning my child would have to leave the school they are attending and uproot their life.

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“The building works will cause excessive noise and will be unsightly.

“The proposed balconies on the fourth floor would directly affect any of the top-floor flats' light and would create more noise.

“There are already limited parking spaces and limited space for the bins, adding more would be detrimental to the residents already occupying.

“Adding lifts to the building that only serve the top two floors would devalue the existing flats. They would also block light and be detrimental to residents who have rather large windows right by where the proposed lifts are.”

While another said the building is already “overcrowded”.

“More floors mean more residents sharing the same amenities (parking spaces, communal areas, and refuse facilities) within an already very tight space,” they said.

“The bin store is already inadequate for current residents (rubbish regularly spills out onto the main driveway thoroughfare), whilst the recycling bins are forced to occupy critical space on the main driveway due to a lack of space elsewhere on the site.”

Planning documents state further upward development of the building is “unlikely to result in any demonstrable harm either from loss of light or privacy”.

“This is further confirmed in the daylight and sunlight assessment report supporting the submission,” documents said.

“This confirms that the existing neighbouring properties will still receive adequate annual probable sunlight hours and that the vertical sky component for all neighbouring windows will result in a negligible impact to surrounding properties when considered on a pre and post-construction basis.

“The proposal will therefore not result in a change in light levels to occupants located near the proposed site in any adverse way. Further, the assessment confirms that all proposed habitable rooms achieve the minimum target daylight levels.”

Developers also said the plan was of a “high quality” design, existing vehicular access from London Road would be retained and refuse and recycling bins will be provided at the rear of the site, consistent with the existing arrangement.