More affordable homes for Brighton development

It was announced at the Greater Brighton Economic Board in Crawley today (March 26) that the percentage of affordable homes had gone up to 30 per cent.

This is twice as many as the previously agreed 15 per cent and results from a deal between the developer U+I Group and the housing association Optivo.

U+I Group signed a deal with Optivo Housing in February with the latter looking to build 369 homes on the site in Lewes Road, Brighton.

Work is due to start on the blocks of affordable flats later this year and to be completed by 2022.

Brighton and Hove City Council leader Daniel Yates said: “It is really good news. My only concern is the definition of affordable.

“In planning terms affordable means ‘marginally less unaffordable’, with a 20 per cent discount on market rates.”

Councillor Yates added: “This is not really affordable for many people living in the city and people who want to remain living in the city.”

Work is already under way on Scape Student Living’s blocks of 555 student flats as part of the scheme.

The first building is due to be completed by the end of this year and will include work space for start-ups and small firms.

The £300 million Preston Barracks masterplan is intended to establish the stretch of Lewes Road as part of a thriving academic and economic corridor in Brighton.

The economic board was also told that Brighton University’s Central Research Laboratory is part way through construction, with the frame in place and cladding expected to start in the next few months.