Portzed scheme in Hove given backing by planning officials

A scheme to build six blocks of flats at the Hove end of Shoreham Harbour is being supported by planning officials.

The Portzed scheme, in Basin Road North, Hove, close to Hove Lagoon has been redrawn since being turned down last year.

The number of flats has been reduced from 67 to 52 and the previously proposed helical wind turbines have been dropped.

The height of four of the six blocks has been reduced. The two central blocks will be five storeys high, the two outer blocks will be three storeys high and the other two will be four storeys.

But 70 people have written to Brighton and Hove City Council to object to the scheme, including 18 people living opposite the site in Kingsway, Hove.

They said that the six blocks would be too high, overbearing and would loom over neighbouring buildings, creating an East Croydon-on-sea.

Mike Sharman, chairman of the Kingsway and West Hove Residents’ Association (KAWHRA), said that the three-storey building would leave his house in darkness for at least 16 weeks of the year.

Dr Sharman said that the lozenge-shaped design, originally intended to optimise the wind turbines’ performance, would act as a wind tunnel.

He said that the current application included no analysis of the wind flow.

Sixteen letters have been sent to the council in support of the scheme, including one from a neighbour in Kingsway.

A report to the council’s Planning Committee recommends that councillors grant approval to the scheme subject to conditions.

The conditions include payments totalling £300,000 under a “section 106 agreement” with the council. The money would go towards roads, schools, open spaces and job creation in the local area.

Twenty of the 52 flats would be “affordable”, according to the report to the Planning Committee.

The report said that the Portzed scheme “would make effective and efficient use of land within the built-up area”.

It said: “The development would not cause significant harm to neighbouring amenity through loss of light, outlook, privacy or increased noise and disturbance.

“The development would make highly efficient use of resources and meets the demand it creates for infrastructure, including transport, education and open space.

“The height and scale of the development would impact on the adjoining area.”

It said that the scheme did not strictly conform with the development brief for the area but said: “The overall benefits of the scheme … are considered to outweigh the concerns over the height requirements within the brief and, on balance, justify an exception in this case.

“The reduced height and scale to the east and west of the site coupled with the separation between buildings would provide a transition with adjoining development.

“In this instance, and on balance, the proposed design is considered sufficient to address the local context.

“Furthermore, early development of this site is highly desirable to provide a catalyst for further regeneration of the Aldrington Basin area.”

Colin Brace, of the developer Boho Green and Harbour View Developments (Sussex), said that the scheme was vital if enough new homes were to be built to cope with local needs.

A planning inspector is currently holding an examination in public of the council’s City Plan, which highlights a need for at least 16,000 new homes over the next 17 years.

But it identifies sites for only 11,000 homes and there are concerns that the council will be told to go back to the drawing board.

This could involve building on more greenfield sites, agreeing to taller buildings and allowing greater density which may include, for example, building in more back gardens.

The hearings, which are taking place at the Brighthelm Centre in North Road, Brighton, started last week and are due to end this week.

Mr Brace also said that the scheme was an exemplar of environmental good practice. Even with the changes, he believed that it would still be a zero carbon scheme.

This ambition is reflected in the scheme’s name – the “zed” part of Portzed stands for zero energy development.

The name echoes the Bedzed project in Sutton, London, which was the brainchild of architect Bill Dunster. He runs a firm called Zedfactory and was also involved in designing Portzed with local architect Alan Phillips.

The council’s Planning Committee is due to decide whether to approve the scheme at a meeting at Hove Town Hall on Wednesday (30 October).

The meeting is scheduled to start at 2pm and is open to the public.