Councillor Accuses Brighton Green MP Of Not Giving Community Equal Support

A Conservative councillor has accused the Green MP for Brighton Pavilion of not giving equal support to the different communities in her constituency.

Councillor Anne Meadows, who represents Patcham and Hollingbury, spoke out after Caroline Lucas gave her support to residents fighting plans to redevelop a derelict site in Beaconsfield Road.

In contrast, Councillor Meadows said that the MP was not publicly supporting neighbours fighting Royal Mail’s plans to build a new sorting office on council-owned farmland in Patcham in the same way.

Artist's impression, Royal Mail, Patcham Court Farm

But Ms Lucas said:

“I have been taking action since November 2021 on behalf of constituents with concerns about Royal Mail plans to develop the Patcham Court Farm site to support them.”

In a letter to the MP, Councillor Meadows said:

“I couldn’t help comparing that (support for Beaconsfield Road residents) to the lack of public support you have given to residents in Patcham and Hollingbury who are opposed to the 24-hour development proposed on virgin, green land off Vale Avenue.

“The Royal Mail development will destroy the wildlife in the area besides polluting the area’s water supply.

“It will concrete over that green land, possibly causing further flooding on the Old London Road.

“It will also be a noisy operation with 24 hours of vehicle movements and is next door to a conservation area.

“This will affect hundreds of residents who live in this area.

“Would you be able to explain your reason for not publicly supporting the residents of Patcham and Hollingbury please?”

Councillor Meadows contrasted the public support for people campaigning against converting the Beaconsfield Road site into a car hire business because it was “brownfield” while Vale Avenue ws “greenfield” farmland.

Beaconsfield Arches Community Action Group Campaigners

The number of objections to Enterprise Car Hire’s plans for Beaconsfield Road has reached 159 while 859 objections have been lodged in response to the Royal Mail scheme.

Talks about the sale of the 3.6-acre Patcham Court Farm to Royal Mail by Brighton and Hove City Council were put on hold in July last year.

A deal could free two current Royal Mail sites for housing – in North Road, Brighton, and Denmark Villas, in Hove.

The planning application is still open on the council website, with Southern Water having submitted new reports in April.

Ms Lucas said that the council was responsible for planning applications and decisions but the three MPs representing Brighton and Hove could and did comment on planning applications at times.

After Councillor Meadows’s complaint about the lack of obvious support for the Patcham Against Royal Mail campaign, Ms Lucas emailed residents with a promise to keep them updated with her actions against the plans.

In response to Councillor Meadows’s comments, Ms Lucas said:

“While individual planning applications are the responsibility of Brighton and Hove City Council, I have been taking action since November 2021 on behalf of constituents with concerns about Royal Mail plans to develop the Patcham Court Farm site to support them.

“Royal Mail has so far failed to adequately answer the residents’ questions I have put to them and it’s vital that clear and accurate information is in the public domain so it can be properly scrutinised by the local community.

“Unless Royal Mail addresses the many valid questions and concerns residents are raising in the assessments they assure me they are working on, I will be submitting a formal objection.

“I’ve also contacted Southern Water on behalf of constituents who are concerned about aspects of the plans relating to the impact on water supply and Brighton and Hove City Council about lease arrangements at the site.”

No date has been set for the planning application and any property deal to go before councillors.