The local media seems to have assumed North Laine Community Association is in favour of a supermarket on the Brighton Station site.

Throughout discussions on the subject, NLCA has asked several questions: How the development will fit in with the scale and nature of the North Laine, how it will enhance London Road and most importantly, how it will impact on traffic in the area. For any proposal to be acceptable, it must adequately satisfy all criteria of.

The NLCA felt that the terms of the brief covered important aspects of traffic generation and linking. It also contained other good points.

As such, given that the working group was offered the option to either accept the brief in total or reject it in total, NLCA felt that it had little option but to accept it, with reservations.

I hope this makes it clear that NLCA does not, as assumed, support the building of a supermarket. We will oppose any development that in any way negates the brief in its aim to reduce traffic generation and the community will make continual representations at the next stage of consultation to strengthen the traffic reduction aspects of the brief.

-Barry Leigh, Chair, North Laine Community Association