Council Reveals 10 Year Blueprint

Brighton and Hove City Council has released a blueprint for the future of the area over the next 10 years.

Councillors have been tasked with approving the document, with the 224-page draft outlining where new homes and workplaces can be built as well as council policies on student flats, shared houses and homes for older people.

The City Plan Part Two contains dozens of management policies to help councillors and officials when they review planning applications.

The policy areas include employment space, design and heritage, transport, the environment and energy.

When a 10-week consultation was carried out nearly two years ago the document identified more than 50 sites for new homes and three for purpose-built student accommodation but did suggest two or three-bedroom family homes were the most needed type of housing.

On student accommodation City Plan Part Two said: "Brighton's two universities, the University of Brighton and University of Sussex, are major assets that are vital to the city's economy and make an important contribution to its economic and cultural life and its positive national and international reputation."

"However, the number of permitted PBSA (purpose-built student accommodation) bed spaces, currently assessed to be 12,699, remains below the number of students in the city requiring accommodation, particularly for students at the University of Brighton."

However, such conclusions can be somewhat misleading as this assumes that all students requiring accommodation want to and can indeed afford to live in PBSA, which often commands a substantial premium to houses in multiple occupation (HMOs).