Seagull Weekly Briefing 06/08

Good morning, and welcome to the Brighton Seagull's Weekly Briefing. We hope you’re keeping dry—there’s a weather warning, so watch out for weather!

Selective licensing scheme now live

The selective licensing scheme for private rented homes, which we reported on back in March, is now live in four wards.

The scheme, covers approximately 2,100 properties in Kemptown, Moulsecoomb and Bevendean, Queen’s Park, and Whitehawk and Marina wards, areas where the council say there is a clear link between poor property conditions and private rented homes. 

The only properties not covered by this scheme are properties with more than one floor, with three or more unrelated occupiers. These are already covered by the city-wide HMO licensing schemes, which was introduced in July and has received more than 1,600 applications since the launch. 

To adhere to the selective licensing scheme, property owners and managing agents now need to complete a property license application.

If they sign up of their own accord, it will cost them £690. If they have to be prompted to, it will cost £783. However, there's a whole slew of discounts that can be applied.

It is hoped by the council that a second stage of the scheme will be introduced to cover 13 wards, however this is subject to government approval. Licensing across the city would affect around around a third of the city, as 39,684 households are rented.

Councillor Gill Williams, chair of the Housing & New Homes Committee, said:

Too often we hear from residents in private rental accommodation about their poor experiences—introducing licensing in these four wards will allow us to raise standards.

We’ve already seen the benefits property licensing brings for better managed and safer homes. It can also benefit landlords by putting us in a better position to help them improve and maintain their properties.

We also know we have work to do ourselves to improve the safety and quality of council-rented homes – and we have increased investment to achieve that.

🖋 News in Brief 🖋

• Marine Drive is going to be resurfaced from Monday 9th September to Wednesday 2nd October, between Rottingdean and Saltdean.
• There's a yellow weather warning for rain in place all day today: be careful out there!
• A new Aldi is going to be built in Hove, near the A27. Aldi > Lidl in our opinion.
• Charlie Southall watch: he's at it again, there's a public hearing regarding the pub on Wednesday 25th September.

What's happening? The council has decided to go ahead with building a Royal Mail delivery office at Patcham Court Farm, despite mass public objection.

This has been going on for a while, right? It was originally put to the council back in July 2022, and has faced opposition throughout, mostly regarding water and traffic.

What exactly is the plan? The currently existing agricultural buildings and scrub land will be cleared to build a 4,145sqm storage and distribution facility, providing around 360 jobs.

How many objections were there? Out of 1,179 comments from members of the public, 1,161 were objections, with 13 people in support of the application.

What did they say? Concerns were raised that the development would adversely affect the water extraction aquifer, risking the city's water supply. People were also concerned that an area 'unsuited to such traffic flows' would not be able to handle the increase in traffic.

One person said it would 'kill the very heart of Patcham and its community', and that people's 'homes and lives will be ruined if this goes ahead'.

Much was said about the environment around Patcham, the quiet peaceful nature of the area, and the upset of the community.

Groups including CPRE Sussex, Patcham and Hollingbury Conservation Association, Patcham Local History Group, the Environment Agency, National Highways, Brighton & Hove Wildlife Forum, and Southern Water, the latter of which raised concerns over Royal Mail's lack of protection for the natural aquifer on the site.

Tell us more about the aquifer? An aquifer is 'a body of permeable rock which can contain or transmit groundwater'. The one in Patcham provides naturally filtered drinking water for Brighton & Hove and out to Peacehaven, and extends across a lot of the South Downs. Concerns have been raised about it becoming polluted. Patcham Against Royal Mail said:

Because Patcham Court Farm is close to the abstraction adit [tunnel], it makes it very difficult to prevent contaminates introduced on to the surface by development to be reduced to acceptable levels.

If the water in the hill becomes contaminated with pollution it cannot be pumped from the hill to residents. In reverse the pumping station can not take water away back up into the hills if there is heavy rainwater and the groundwater rises.

Who supported it? Of the 13 people who supported the application, they said it was an 'an excellent use of a long vacant site', it will reduce traffic in town, be concealed from residents due to its location, and that it will 'greatly improve the operation and environmental impact on the city'.

Why have the council made this decision? The council voted to approve this by seven votes to two, with one abstention, subject to 46 conditions, on Wednesday. They heard a deputation presented on behalf of local residents, a presentation by council planning officers and submissions by objectors and the applicant, and visited the site before the meeting.