Portslade Homes, Brighton Housing, Residential Building Development, East Sussex Architecture
Homes for Brighton: New Portslade Housing
New Residential Building in East Sussex, Southeast England by Conran and Partners Architects
17 Sep 2019
Homes for Brighton: Portslade Development
Design: Conran and Partners Architects
Location: Brighton, East Sussex, Southern England, UK
Conran and Partners granted planning permission for living wage-indexed housing in Brighton and Hove
Leading international design practice Conran and Partners have received planning approval for 104 new affordable homes to be built in Brighton and Hove.
image courtesy of Conran and Partners
The proposed 7-storey scheme represents the leading project in a series of innovative new housing developments which seek to tackle the city’s housing crisis through the ‘Homes for Brighton & Hove’ initiative – a partnership between Brighton & Hove City Council and the Hyde Group – set up to create 1,000 new homes for rent and sale for lower income, local working households in the city.
The council-owned site in Portslade is located along Wellington Road (A259) on the site of the former Belgrave Day Centre and will deliver 100% of the new homes as affordable. The Living Wage Joint Venture seeks to provide 50% shared ownership (intermediate housing) and 50% affordable rent, with the cost set at 37.5% of the gross income of a household earning the new Living Wage.
The scheme will offer a variety of one-, two- and three-bedroom homes that all exceed national space standards. It will benefit from good transport links to surrounding areas, while its close proximity to Boundary Road will provide quick access to shops and local amenities. The proposals also take advantage of the spectacular views of the sea and the surrounding South Downs.
The design reintroduces the historical street pattern, with a sheltered courtyard created as part of a new pedestrian route through the site, referencing St James Square which once occupied the site. The courtyard space is animated with front doors and overlooked by generous windows and balconies.
image courtesy of Conran and Partners
The proposed buildings are set back from the main road, enabling a ‘green corridor’ of elm trees, hedges and seasonal plants to be introduced. The stepped buildings will be created from robust, textured brick and stone.
The site intends to be the catalyst for change as the very first site to come forward within the eastern extent of the Joint Area Action Plan (JAAP), a zonal masterplan delivering regeneration and associated infrastructure within Adur & Worthing Brighton & Hove and Shoreham Port Authority. The site is allocated for residential use.
Lee Davies, Partner, Conran and Partners, says: “We are delighted that our design proposals have been approved. As a leading part of the ‘Homes for Brighton & Hove’ initiative, this scheme marks the beginning of a vital strategy for the city in offering a forward-thinking solution to affordable housing.
Our design approach not only provides much-needed and desirable new homes for those that live and work in the city, but also initiates the area’s wider masterplan and provides a catalyst for positive change in the area.”
Councillor John Allcock, chair of the council’s Housing Committee and chair of Homes for Brighton & Hove, adds: “Homes for Brighton & Hove is a key part of our plans to increase the supply of genuinely affordable homes the city urgently needs and it’s great to see this second development move a step closer.”
Guy Slocombe, Group Business Development Director for Hyde Housing comments: “Homes for Brighton & Hove is an innovative partnership set up with the sole purpose of building genuinely affordable homes for local people in Brighton & Hove. We know the need for affordable housing is high and so we are delighted to have reached this exciting milestone of securing planning approval for our second scheme.”
image courtesy of Conran and Partners
In addition, Brighton & Hove City Council recognised the significance of the project’s “minimalist façade” in “complimenting the industrial historic use of the area whilst maintaining a street frontage that offers opportunity for shadow and relief and interest in the skyscape.”
The Conservation Advisory Group also praised how the “the re-created historic square plan gives a visual break to the building line along Wellington Road. The well-balanced graduation of buildings’ heights from the corner of Station Road is also a design masterstroke.”
The planning approval was granted on 4th September.
Conran and Partners
Conran and Partners’ other residential developments include Wornington Green/Portobello Square and Stadium Place, Walthamstow (all in London), Fishbourne Road, Chichester, and Maidenhead Town Centre.
The architecture practice’s continued transformation of a failing housing estate in Ealing (Green Man Lane), west London, to deliver over 770 new homes, community facilities and a new school, has become a flagship project for the Police’s Secured by Design initiative, creating safer neighbourhoods through design innovation. The architecture practice’s design skills have been endorsed by over 50 design awards and commendations, including Civic Trust Awards and RIBA Awards for work in sensitive contexts.
Homes for Brighton: Portslade Housing Development images / information received from Conran and Partners
Location: Portslade, Brighton, East Sussex, Southeast England, UK
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