Brighton residents' health fears over plans for new flats

St William, part of The Berkeley Group, wants to build between 600 and 700 homes on the site of the old gas works in east Brighton, across two hectares of land at the junction of Marina Way and Roedean Road.

About 2,000sqm of employment space is also included in the plans, as well as open spaces for the community and residential gardens.

An application has not yet been made to Brighton and Hove City Council and St William is currently in the consultation stage.

Val Vizor, who lives in Cliff Road just behind the gas works site, says residents are against the proposals.

The 75-year-old said: “We are all up in arms about the height and density of the flats and the lack of community planning, but we are most concerned about our health and our children’s health.

“No one has been allowed to build on the site because of the gases in the ground. There used to be a tank for producing gas from things like arsenic and cyanide and when it was demolished I believe it was covered in concrete.

"If they are building so many flats on the site it could start releasing poisonous gases, like what happened in Southall in London.

"It’s quite sinister.”

Last year campaigners in Southall, West London, began preparing a legal challenge against The Berkeley Group following two years of complaints from residents about the company’s development on the site of a former gasworks.

Residents had reported a “petrol-like odour” and said their health was at risk from toxic pollution.

Val said: “The developer is using all the right words like ‘green’ and ‘community’ but really it seems like an excuse to make a few extra millions.

“We all agree Brighton is desperate for housing but this development is not going to help people.

"The penthouse flats will have great sea views and will be sold for an awful lot I expect.

"We need housing for trainee nurses and for Brighton people, not empty second homes for oligarchs like at the Marina.”

St William held a webinar consultation about the plans earlier this month, but Val said many residents were not aware of it.

She said: “A neighbour came round to tell me about the webinar and I had to go over and watch it there at a distance. Older people and those who don’t have access to Zoom are being excluded from this kind of debate.”

Residents are holding a meeting about the plans at East Brighton Park on Friday at 6pm, near the entrance road and tennis courts.

Alison Dowsett, managing director of St William, said: “Brighton Gasworks is an exciting opportunity to reconnect this closed off site with its surrounding community and bring back to life one of Brighton and Hove’s last remaining largescale brownfield sites, delivering new homes and jobs set within a new piece of publicly accessible landscape. 

"We are committed to ensuring that the social and economic benefits of the proposals can be delivered as quickly as possible, supporting the city’s recovery from Covid-19 and helping to tackle the housing crisis in Brighton and Hove.

"The plans for this site are currently at the early stages of design and we are committed to working closely with the local community to develop them, prior to submitting an application which is targeted for the end of the year.

“All works to former industrial sites of this nature are subject to strict environmental and health and safety legislation, to which St William rigorously adheres.

"They will be also be controlled through planning conditions to be approved by Brighton & Hove City Council, in consultation with the Environment Agency, prior to any works commencing. Remediation of the site will be handled under strict statutory legislation, with monitoring and validation, and with specialist expertise that will ensure that it is carried out appropriately and safely.

"This initial consultation was hosted from mid-June to mid-July, including two webinar presentations and in response to the challenges posed by the lockdown measures we have taken measures to maximise the chance of the local community hearing about and engaging in the consultation.

"The information from this initial consultation will remain on the website and we are very happy to send anyone a printed copy of the material and we encourage everyone to send their views, comments or questions. Please get in touch by phone, video call, email or post.”

Brighton and Hove City Council said: “We would like to assure residents that, if an application is received, they will be consulted and the plan will be carefully considered against policies in the adopted City Plan.”