A message from your Patcham Councillors

We need your help to save two precious woodland and green spaces in Patcham Ward from development.

Brighton & Hove City Council's 10-years housing plan, called City Plan Part 2, includes 2 urban fringe green sites in Patcham Ward adjoining Horsdean Recreation Ground and Ladies Mile Nature Reserve.  The sites are listed in table 8, page 178 of the plan.

Brighton and Hove City Council wants to develop these precious green spaces to make way for 60 houses.

As your Patcham Councillors we are strongly opposed to these green spaces being developed and spoke and voted against these at the City Plan Part 2 meeting on 23 April.  

I would first like to express my concern for developments proposed on the Urban Fringe, particularly the piece of land by Patcham's Horsdean Recreation Ground.  This is Downland and was designated as an area of outstanding natural beauty.  This appalling proposal will mean the destruction of numerous trees and adversely affect wildlife.  It has understandably received the most objections from any proposals in the Plan as it will significantly change the setting of the Recreation Ground and the immediate area.  I hope that the council will listen to our residents and delete this.  - Cllr Carol Theobald, 23/04/20.

Unfortunately, Greens and Labour voted in favour of the plan and the City Plan Part 2 will shortly move into a public consultation phase.

Why these sites can still be saved

The City Plan Part 2 document is required to meet a minimum housing target for the City of 13,200 additional homes.

However brownfield development counts for 90% of the new homes in the plan.

Deleting the greenfield urban fringe sites from City Plan and only developing on these brownfield sites would still leave Brighton & Hove City Council over 1900 homes above the minimum target.

With City Plan Part 2 moving into a public consultation phase there is still time to make this argument and save this land from development if we come together as a community with one voice.

How you can help

Our community has mobilised many times before to save green spaces from development in Patcham Ward and we now need your help once again.

As an initial step we would like to get 1250 signatures on the petition below so that we can trigger a special council meeting to discuss the matter.

In the recent past, with strong community involvement and support, we managed to save 46 to 54 Old London Road from development (McCarthy and Stone's proposals).

We now must come together as a community again to save these precious pieces of land.

I hope that you will be able to lend your voice to the petition below and help us fight to save Patcham's green land from development.

Yours faithfully,

Patcham Ward Councillors:

Lee Wares, Carol Theobald and Alistair McNair