A FORMER GP surgery could be pulled down to make way for almost 40 homes.

Developers want to demolish the old Whitehawk Clinic in Brighton and create a five storey building.

The aim is to provide 38 homes, some of which will be available for affordable rent, and 18 parking spaces.

The current building is a mixture of single and two storeys.

The proposed new height has led to concerns from some residents who fear it may overshadow other homes.

However a report to Brighton and Hove City Council’s planning committee said other buildings in the area were between three and five storeys high.

Other concerns raised included fears there were not enough parking spaces planned as on-street parking in the area is in high demand.

The development would also mean more traffic on surrounding streets.

The practice was one of four which closed in Brighton and Hove last year after the private company which ran them for the NHS pulled out of the contract.

The 4,000 patients at Whitehawk were transferred to Ardingly Court Surgery instead.

Objectors to the plans say schools and GP surgeries would not be able to cope with the additional demand.

The report said the loss of the site as a surgery was “regrettable”.

It said: “However it is understood the NHS services previously delivered from the site have been relocated and the proposed residential development will contribute to the city’s housing needs.”

The report said most primary schools in the area have surplus capacity and this was expected to continue for the foreseeable future so they would be able to cope with demand.

The site falls into the catchment area for Longhill High School in Rottingdean which currently has places available but the report said this was not likely to continue.

Plans are already under way to open a new secondary school in the city to cope with growing demand.

The committee, which meets on Wednesday, is being asked to approve the plans.