Debate about building homes on Brighton and Hove’s green spaces is deferred

A debate about building more than a thousand homes on green spaces around Brighton and Hove has been put back to the autumn.

Council leader Jason Kitcat said this afternoon (Friday 11 July) that it had not been possible to reach a consensus across the parties.

Most of the sites listed as having the potential for new housing are in wards represented by opposition Labour and Conservative councillors.

The Greens, including Councillor Kitcat, sit for wards nearer the centre of Brighton and Hove and away from what has become known as the urban fringe.

The news of the delay before the debate can take place was tweeted by the Brighton and Hove Independent on Twitter this afternoon.

The announcement was made at the start of the Policy and Resources Committee of Brighton and Hove City Council.

Councillor Geoffrey Theobald, leader of the Conservative group, said that he would have voted against the proposal to allocate almost 40 sites for housing.

The proposal was drawn up after a government planning inspector told the council to “look under every stone” in the quest for land for new housing.

Her instruction came in response to a shortfall in homes in the draft City Plan. The council expects to need to provide up to 24,000 private and public sector flats and houses by 2030. It has allocated land for 11,300.

Protesters, including Brighton and Hove Friends of the Earth, said that it was a mistake to look at the green open spaces on and near the edge of Brighton and Hove.

They said that more effort should be made to include more homes on brownfield sites nearer shops and services.

One councillor said before the meeting that planners faced a challenge finding sites.

He said that because Brighton and Hove was sandwiched between the Downs and the sea, planners were stuck between a rock and a hard place.