More Homes Proposed For Hove's Toads Hole Valley

Plans to build a new school have been dropped in favour of 180 extra homes on a greenfield site in Hove, bringing the total to over 1,000.

If planning permission is granted, they would be built next to 880 homes that have already been approved in principle in Toads Hole Valley.

The revised scheme, reflecting a fall in pupil numbers in Brighton and Hove, is due to go before councillors next Wednesday (8 March).

Officials broadly support the outline planning application for the site which is on land between the A27 Brighton bypass and King George VI Avenue, known locally as Snakey Hill.

In May last year, Brighton and Hove City Council’s Planning Committee granted outline planning permission for a scheme that included 880 homes, sports facilities, community and commercial buildings and a school.

The revised application for land at the bottom of Snakey Hill has been submitted by the consortium behind the scheme – Toads Hole Valley Limited, Pecla Investments Limited and Robert Simon.

They submitted an education needs assessment with their latest planning application. It concluded that there was no need for a new school building and that any provision could be covered through the community infrastructure levy (CIL)

The assessment was prepared by Heather Knowler, senior consultant with Education Facilities Management Ltd.

It said that birth rates across Brighton and Hove had dropped from a peak of 3,303 in 2008 to 2,395 in 2019 and showed no sign of levelling off.

For the past four years, the council has looked to reduce admission numbers at primary schools across Brighton and Hove, including nearby West Blatchington Primary School.

Ms Knowler said:

“It is clear that pupil numbers have expanded over the last eight to ten years and that a significant ‘bulge’ of children is working its way through the system.

“It has now moved into the secondary school phase and will take a number of years to work through. After 2023, however, the pressure should start to reduce for that cohort.

“For the primary cohort, numbers have completed their rise and should now reduce through to 2027 followed by a projected upturn.”

The council’s education team backed Ms Knowler’s findings.

Neighbours and campaign groups have sent 27 objections to the council, three general comments and two letters of support. Concerns range from the effects of the proposals on wildlife to traffic problems.

Conservative councillors Samer Bagaeen and Vanessa Brown, who represent Hove Park ward, have objected to the application.

They said:

“We understand we do not require another secondary school but better use could be made of this site.

“This will make the number of homes over a thousand, which is an overdevelopment with all the attendant traffic problems. There is insufficient infrastructure to support all these homes.

“We believe a better use of this land would be more sporting facilities, additional medical facilities or parkland for the use of the thousands of residents who will be living on the site.”

Hove Civic Society has also objected to the application and wants the land put to community use. It said:

“It would be unacceptable for such a large site to be so heavily dominated by housing.

“This was the situation that unfortunately came about in the adjacent large 1950s/60s development across the whole Goldstone Valley – with its very minimal community provision.

“It should certainly not be allowed to happen again in the equally large area of Toads Hole Valley.”

If councillors grant planning permission, 109 homes would be earmarked for sale on the open market, with the other 73 – or 40 per cent – allocated as affordable housing.

The Planning Committee meeting is due to start at 2pm on Wednesday (8 March) at Hove Town Hall. The meeting is scheduled to be webcast on the council’s website.