Brighton College Expansion Plans Go Before Councillors

Plans for new school buildings and a boarding house are recommended for approval by councillors this week.

Brighton College wants to build new classrooms on the former St Mary’s Hall site and convert the existing prep school site into boarding accommodation.

Brighton and Hove City Council’s Planning Committee is due to reach a decision on Wednesday (2 July), with officials advising members to be “minded to grant” permission.

A report said that the proposals complied with local and national planning policy.

Approval would be subject to terms including travel plans and monitoring and a £6,360 contribution towards employment and skills training.

At the St Mary’s Hall site, in Eastern Road, the plans include a new three-storey teaching block designed to look like a row of seven terraced houses, with gabled roofs and a multi-use hall.

The pre-prep school could then become two boarding houses at the former Convent of the Blessed Sacrament site, which borders Walpole Road, Belle Vue Gardens and Eastern Road.

The boarding houses – including a new five-storey building – would cater for 150 children, aged 13 to 18.

A 20th century building and extensions on the site would be demolished.

In March, Brighton College was criticised after an email to staff encouraged them to post comments in support of the planning application.

The date of the email – Monday 3 March – coincided with almost 150 comments appearing on the council website, followed by about 70 more the next day.

Labour councillor Liz Loughran, who chaired the council’s Planning Committee at the time, responded by saying that it was not a referendum.

A report published last week said that there were 619 representations from the public, 299 in support, including from the University Hospitals Sussex NHS Trust, the Regency Society and Hove Civic Society.

A total of 268 comments objected to the plans, including from a campaign group called Wild Kemptown.

Ten councillors have objected to the application. They include eight Labour members and two Green members.

Councillor Wilkinson, Labour, said that the school had “undermined community trust” with its application to increase the number of boarders.

He said:

“I have spoken with many residents and they feel unheard. Consultation events have been described as disconnected exhibitions, not genuine dialogue.

“Local residents’ groups like the Kemptown United group, Wild Kemptown and local councillors have raised consistent concerns, only to feel dismissed. This is a community feeling invisible.

“Such frustration transcends politics. It’s about a community facing displacement, psychological and practical, where once-vibrant residential streets feel colonised by a corporate school.”

In his objection, he questioned the height of the proposed buildings, the effects on resident parking and whether there was a need to expand the school’s residential impact on the area by introducing 150 new boarders.

Public objectors criticised potential noise, overdevelopment, poor design, the prospect of extra traffic and effects on the conservation area.

Supportive comments said that the proposals were well designed, would improve educational facilities and would reduce traffic.

The Regency Society said that the application was “imaginative” and “enhancing the existing streetscape”.

The society said:

“The proposal for the relocated prep school on the St Mary’s site has a design and scale that continues and enhances the existing streetscape while providing within the site something very relatable to children, who will be the main users. The choice of materials is imaginative.

“On the convent site, the preservation of the mid 19th century villas and early 20th century extensions, freed from the clutter of mid 20th building additions, is welcome – as is the removal of perimeter high netting.”

Brighton College said in its application that the Sunday Times had named it the best school in the UK for A levels and the best boarding school in the country.

The 180-year-old independent school has 1,800 pupils aged 3 to 18, mostly from the BN postcode area.

It has 700 staff, supports 150 jobs in the area and contributes £50 million a year to Brighton and Hove’s GDP.

In a “design and access statement”, the college said:

“The new building will be iconic for Brighton.

“With a striking silhouette of pitched roofs, the new proposal draws inspiration from the local vernacular of coastal architecture and fishermen’s huts but stands firmly in the 21st century.

“With modern, high-quality, yet sustainable materials and detailing throughout, the project aims to capture the progressive and modern values of Brighton College, yet drawing inspiration from its local and historical context.”

The Planning Committee is due to meet at Hove Town Hall at 2pm on Wednesday (2 July). The meeting is scheduled to be webcast.