Hello.
You might not have heard but multi-billion pound builder Berkeley wants to build densely packed tower blocks on the old Brighton Gasworks site. Their plans are the worst kind of housebuilding: prioritising profit over people, building flats that don't meet local housing need on a contaminated site in multiple high rises that would dominate the entire area, including the wonderful Grade 1 Listed Kemp Town Estate.
The local community, and a coalition of lots of community, heritage and civic societies has been fighting the plans since 2020 and in May 2024 the council rightly turned them down.
But Berkeley aren’t taking No for an answer. There’s too much money at stake and battering our council into submission through their KCs at an inquiry would send a message to other councils with similar gasworks sites. We are the canary in the coal-mine of risky gasworks developments, and they want to make an example of us.
This is where you come in. We need your help – and specifically your money – to pay for a barrister to represent us at the inquiry and level the playing field.
So why are we fighting? The council put forward three reasons:
- Overdevelopment, resulting in poor living standards
- Too few much-needed family homes (90% would be studio, 1 and 2 bed flats)
- Being totally out of keeping with the local area
We have more. There are no affordable homes proposed at all, which the city urgently needs. The designs, as well as being overbearing, are generic. They’ve been designed to be profit maximising. Most will end up as investments. We have severe doubts about Berkeley’s contamination clear-up record – see https://tinyurl.com/4w92tkst for one example
So we are trying to raise at least £60,000 to pay for a brilliant barrister, Anjoli Foster from Landmark Chambers. She’s the one who won the high rise Marina appeal in 2022.
We have already been given a pledge of £10,000 from the Regency Society if we meet our target. With so many concerned about the plans we have a chance to meet it and get the best people in our corner. If we can’t meet our targets, we’ll instead work with planning consultants to give us a professional voice in the Appeal process. We will fully itemise what’s happening with updates here. The council itself has very little money to oppose the appeal.
The city deserves better. As a community and coalition we can help ensure we get it – housing that serves residents, not just shareholders and investors, and which can be developed safely.
This campaign is being led with the support of a Coalition of Brighton civic and community groups, including Blackrock Residents Association, The Regency Society, The Brighton Society, Marine Gate Residents Association and AGHAST (Action for Gasworks Housing, Affordability Safety & Transparency)
For more information on the campaign so far, see our website: www.brightongasworks.org