Brighton & Hove is benefiting from over £800k from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), Land Release Fund (LRF), which is managed by the One Public Estate (OPE) programme, to support delivery of affordable housing and regeneration on council owned land.
Region: East, South East
Theme: Land Release Fund & Housing (in OPE)
The challenge
Brighton & Hove is a growing city; its population stands at just over 290,000 people and it is expected to rise to 311,500 people by 2030. The city is physically constrained - with the natural boundaries of the sea and the national park restricting outward expansion - and it has a limited legacy of vacant sites, meaning that land for housing is in relatively short supply. The restrictions on space for new development and the city’s limited housing stock have led to demand outstripping supply, fuelling house price inflation.
The story
Geoff Raw, Chief Executive Officer at Brighton & Hove City Council
“In February 2018, the council secured a LRF award of £819,000 to enable the delivery of three schemes that would not have come forward otherwise. Together, these schemes are on target to provide 84 much needed new affordable rented homes, delivered by the council on council-owned land. The funding is being used to support a range of activities such as site demolition, decontamination, groundworks and service and infrastructure improvement. It is enabling viability and unlocking delivery by filling the funding gap caused by abnormal development costs and project specific complexities. The LRF is clearly supporting the council to deliver its housing supply and affordability priorities.”
Kensington Street, Brighton
The project has, in partnership with The Guinness Trust, developed 12 new council homes on three former car parking sites in the central North Laine area of the city. The site was covered in graffiti and attracted anti-social behaviour. It was very constrained and required 35 party wall agreements. Construction has been successfully completed and the flats were handed over on 7 August 2019, allowing the first tenants to move in just one week later - with all flats occupied by tenants from the council’s housing register by mid-October 2019. The scheme won the Best Architectural Design category at the South East Construction Awards 2019, which was presented to the scheme architects Baily Garner. As well as the new homes, the scheme has brought regeneration benefits to the street and wider area.
A once neglected site, which was subject to anti-social behaviour, has now been turned into a vibrant and inclusive part of the city with high quality homes featuring a fully wheelchair accessible flat, and high energy and water efficiency standards.
Victoria Road, Portslade
The project is building 42 new council homes on the site of a former housing office and adjacent bowling club. The project involves the relocation of the bowls clubhouse and associated facilities into a newly built sports pavilion situated in the nearby Victoria Recreation Ground to unlock further land for housing redevelopment. The sports pavilion will be for use by both the Bowls Club and existing Football Clubs and the facility will also provide a new bowling green and 10 new car park spaces.
Without the injection of LRF, the constrained nature (height restrictions) and the abnormal costs (relocation of the Bowls Club) associated with the site meant it was unlikely to be taken forward by either the private sector or Registered Providers for residential development. The LRF grant has helped the release of more land for a larger residential redevelopment.
Work on the site behind Portslade Town Hall started in spring 2021 and the homes are due to be completed in autumn 2022.
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Selsfield Drive, Moulsecoomb
Working with Morgan Sindall, the council’s strategic construction partner, the project developed 30 new council homes on the site of a former housing office. The site had steep level changes, which necessitated the requirement for several retaining structures. The LRF grant contributed toward these and other costs, including the diversion of a public sewer, relocation and upgrade of an electricity sub-station, repositioning of BT cables, retention of a Grade A beech tree and the provision of a temporary access road to the site.
The planning application was approved in September 2019 and construction completed a year later, in September 2020.
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The outcomes
Together, the three schemes are on track to deliver 84 new council homes on council-owned land. The projects form part of the council’s New Homes for Neighbourhoods programme, which works with local resident associations, ward councillors, council staff and partners to improve council estates and neighbourhoods whilst making best use of council housing land and buildings to deliver new, affordable rented homes. Since its inception in summer 2015, the programme has completed 14 schemes delivering 227 new homes and it has an identified pipeline of sites for up to 650 homes. The programme designs and builds all homes to Lifetime Homes standard and at least 10% are designed for wheelchair users. They also have high sustainability standards, reducing energy bills.
Further information
For further information please contact our Regional Programme Managers for the East, South East.