Demolition work begins on former car showroom in Hove

Photos taken over the weekend show piles of rubble on the site of the former KAP Motor Group’s former Peugeot garage in Newtown Road, Hove.

The derelict site, which has been vacant for more than two years, has been described by a resident who lives nearby as an “eyesore” and a “blot on the landscape”.

The site in Hove has been derelict for more than two years

In March, real estate agency Graves Jenkins and Blue Goldstone Limited confirmed the acquisition of the former car showroom, for a mixed-use development of 148 apartments and business space.

Phil Graves, founding director of Graves Jenkins said, “It took us some months to secure a satisfactory completion due to the challenges presented to us by construction cost inflation, funding, a complicated legal procedure and to maintain continued confidence in the residential market.

“It all came together in the end, and we are looking forward to seeing such an innovative design being built in the months to come.”

The former showroom in Hove is being demolished

The scheme, which has been named The Goldstone Apartments, will comprise a range of one-two- and three-bedroom apartments with balconies.

An underground car park is also set to be built, along with allotments and green spaces on the roofs, electric car charging points and potential for co-working space and gym on the ground floor.

The news of the development follows the beginning of construction on the nearby Sackville Road development in Hove.

The Goldstone Apartments. Credit: Philip Graves

More than 500 build-to-rent homes, 260 care community homes and a public garden will be constructed on the site of the Sackville Trading Estate in Hove.

Developer Moda Living says it the work will “transform” the rundown trading estate near Hove station into a “thriving inter-generational neighbourhood” for all ages.

A spokesman for Graves Jenkins said the two housing projects, alongside other new developments in the area, show how Hove is developing.

He said: “With the 800 new residential units in the Moda Living scheme in Sackville Road, the 300 residential units in Conway Street, alongside 20,000sq ft of commercial space and the Hyde Homes and Brighton and Hove city council new homes initiative, Hove is a changing place.”