The concept of how Brighton and Hove might look like in 16 years time was introduced at a civic society lecture.

A six-person panel featuring city councillor Bill Randall and Brighton and Hove Buses managing director Martin Harris convened at the Courtlands Hotel in The Drive, Hove.

With more than 15,000 people thought to be on waiting lists for council houses in the city, finding more accommodation was top of the evening’s agenda.

Nick Lomax, from the architect firm LCE Brighton, criticised council planning policy restrictions - particularly regarding the height of buildings.

He said: "Constantly we are having planning refusals on developments that are, in height terms, are just higher than their neighbouring properties and we’re being told its out of character.

"Sometimes we win on appeal, sometimes we don’t.

“I think we seriously have to consider going high, the tall building strategy doesn’t really go far enough.

"According to the strategy, a tall building is six storeys.

"I cannot think of a city in the world that would consider a tall building to be six storeys.”

Smart travel

Bus chief Mr Harris believes people are more likely to choose public transport and pay with new technologies.

He said: “I really believe that increasingly people will be going for the more sustainable option, because I think the alternative is stark - not just from an environmental point of view but from the point of the view of space.

"I do not see how we can turn the clock back and take away the bus lanes, I don’t think the decisions will go that way.

“Now in our hands, are mobile phones that are paying for travel.

"Smart cards that are enabling us to travel on trains and buses.

"The movement in that direction is unstoppable.”

Improving city

Panelists were discussing Visions of Hove in 2030 in a lecture hosted by the Hove Civic Society on Thursday, April 24.

Society chair Helmut Lusser said: “I would like to thank the panel.

"I mean these people are all heavily engaged in trying to improve the city - each of them from their own perspective.

"And I think in total we’ve got a fantastic thing to work on.

“What I take from this lecture is that where there’s a will, there’s a way.”

Paul Fernley, 20, of New Church Road, Hove said: “It was a mature discussion, which was nice.

"You realise that so many different sort of disparate groups actually do share the same core opinion, that they actually concur with each other.

"You realise how much of it is posturing, and in a discussion like this all the meaningless debate really falls away.”