City Planner: Take risks on housing schemes

Brighton and Hove City Council was going to borrow £52.7 million from the Public Works Loan Board to fund the joint venture between the city and Hyde Housing, to build 1000 homes.

To the dismay of the Labour administration, Councillors refused to vote for the scheme and it has been put on hold for now. The funding itself is highly commended as the city needs to think outside the box to build the homes the city desperately needs. Oxford and Cambridge, both of which have problems similar to Brighton in terms of housing provision and affordability, outside London, have come up with their own innovative solutions.

Oxford has gone for the joint venture model and Cambridge is developing land owned by the city and by the university. In Brighton, both universities are struggling to get their own schemes off the ground, so it is up to the city to think innovatively.

The council should borrow against its vast land holdings

The scheme is risky and Brighton and Hove councillors need to take calculated risks. What’s gone on before is not good enough anymore. So how can we move the scheme forward?

Putting the project out to tender to ensure it gets best value for money is a good idea. While Hyde may be investing widely in the city, we should do more to seduce other housing associations and other developers to come and invest in Brighton and Hove.

The council should borrow against its vast land holdings and therefore avoid the possibility of the project hitting council services if the costs of the scheme rise. We need bold councillors and I’m afraid what we have is not good enough.

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