Brighton and Hove City Council gives update on council house projects

Brighton and Hove City Council has given an update on the housing schemes due to start, currently being developed and nearing completion as part of its "ambitious" New Homes for Neighbourhoods building programme, which will provide housing for families on the council’s housing register.

Work is expected to start in the spring on three new three-bedroom council homes on the site of former garages in Rotherfield Crescent in Hollingbury.

Plans for the site were drawn up following a design competition run by the council and the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and the new homes are designed to be “highly sustainable”.

Plans are being progressed to provide up to 30 council homes for rent on a council-owned former garage site in Eastergate Road, Moulsecoomb.

An artist's impression of the Hollingbury scheme (Image: BHCC)

While the project is still in its early stages, the aim is to provide “transitional” move-on housing for young people with low level support needs.

The council said modular construction, where the flats are built off site, before being transported to site, is preferred.

Using these modern methods of construction, it said, reduces the amount of embedded carbon, compared to a traditional build, by up to 45 per cent.

It added that sustainable technologies and materials will be built into the design specification, and it is intended that the scheme will include air source heat pumps and solar panels.

The council said modular buildings are designed so they can be easily dismantled and re-used or recycled, which is “in line with the council’s circular economy principles”.

At the November meeting of the housing committee, councillors gave approval to progress the project to end of the pre-construction phase, to include design work and clearance of the site.

Work is also due to start early in the new year on four new council homes in Frederick Street in the city centre.

The site was previously used for parking and will be transformed to provide two two-bedroom flats and two studio flats.

Families will start moving into a major development of 42 new council homes in Victoria Road, Portslade in the new year.

The council said the development is its “most sustainable” new council housing scheme to date and will be the first new council housing project in the city with a ground source heat pump system.

“Living” walls will be planted on the exterior of the two blocks of flats and watered with recycle rainwater.

The homes are due to be completed in January and are being let to people on the council’s housing register.

Construction is “progressing well” on 104 low-cost homes in Wellington Road, Portslade and 242 in Coldean Lane, Coldean.

The flats are being developed by Homes for Brighton and Hove, a partnership of Brighton and Hove City Council and housing association the Hyde Group. 

More than half of the new homes will be available as council homes on low rents, and the rest will be available to buy through a shared ownership scheme from Hyde. 

The Wellington Road homes are due to be completed in the spring and the Coldean Lane homes in the summer.

Councillor David Gibson has spoken of his pride at the ambitious scheme (Image: Brighton and Hove City Council)

Councillor David Gibson, who co-chairs the housing committee, said: “We’re proud to have one of the most ambitious programmes of building new council homes in the country, and we are making the most of council-owned sites around the city to provide extra housing.

“It will be great to see work starting on sites on Rotherfield Crescent and Frederick Street in 2023. It has taken a lot of work to get both projects to this stage and, although they are small scale developments, it all adds to the supply of affordable homes.

“Including homes bought back through our Home Purchase Policy, we’re on schedule to deliver 164 additional council homes this financial year. These include the Victoria Road development nearing completion, which will be our most sustainable new council housing scheme to date.

“We also have two Homes for Brighton and Hove developments due to deliver the bulk of 176 truly affordable rented council homes next year, and very exciting plans in the pipeline for more than 200 homes and a new community hub in Moulsecoomb.

“We’re also pleased to be progressing plans to use modular buildings to provide homes for young people in Eastergate Road, a low carbon scheme which also ties in with our circular economy principles.”