Hove scheme spotlights housing crisis

Nick Staunton's September 1 article in Brighton Journal put a proposed Kingsthorpe Road development in Hove back at the center of Brighton & Hove's long-running housing debate. The article said the scheme had renewed questions about whether new building in the city is adding homes that local people can actually afford. A separate report by Brighton and Hove News said councillors were due to consider, on September 2, a plan for 14 flats on the site of a former art supplies store in Kingsthorpe Road. That application includes no on-site affordable housing, according to the report. ### Which Hove scheme has brought the issue back into focus? Kingsthorpe Road in Hove is the site of the proposal highlighted this week. Brighton and Hove News reported that developer Emma Taylor-Moore wants to build a five-storey block containing 14 flats on the former TN Lawrence building site, between the railway line and Portland Road. The 14-flat scheme does not include affordable housing within the building. Brighton and Hove News reported that council policy says schemes of five homes or more should include an affordable housing contribution, and that a 14-home scheme would normally be expected to provide 30% affordable housing or make a payment instead. (brightonandhovenews.org) ### How much money is attached to the affordable-housing shortfall? The Kingsthorpe Road application carries a proposed commuted payment of £394,105 toward affordable homes elsewhere in Brighton and Hove. Brighton and Hove News said the figure followed an independent assessment by the District Valuation Service, which concluded that the full policy-compliant contribution should be reduced from £779,000. (brightonandhovenews.org) A late-stage viability review could raise that payment if the development proves more profitable than forecast. Brighton and Hove News said the scheme would also be liable for almost £400,000 in community infrastructure levy payments. ### Why has this become part of a wider shortage debate? Nick Staunton wrote on September 1 that Brighton & Hove's shortage of development land, high prices and rents, and repeated disputes over density and affordability have made each new housing proposal a broader test of policy. (brightonandhovenews.org) His article said the city faces pressure to increase supply while residents and councillors continue to argue over design, transport, parking and whether new homes are genuinely affordable. Brighton & Hove City Council has described the local need in similar terms. In June 2025, Councillor Gill Williams, the council's cabinet member for housing, said the city had "thousands of households" on its waiting list when announcing a separate Hove affordable-housing application. ### What does the council say it is already building in Hove? (brightonjournal.co.uk) Brighton & Hove City Council said on April 9 that work was under way on 306 low-cost homes on the former Sackville Road Trading Estate in Hove. The council said 183 of those homes would be for council rent and 123 would be available through shared ownership via Hyde. The Sackville Road scheme is being delivered by Homes for Brighton & Hove, a partnership between the council and Hyde. (brighton-hove.gov.uk) The council said the homes are due for completion in March 2029, and that the partnership has delivered 346 homes since 2017 at Clarendon Place in Portslade and Denman Place in Coldean. ### Why are campaigners and critics skeptical that more schemes will solve the problem? (brighton-hove.gov.uk) The Brighton Journal article said the dispute is not simply about whether to build, but about what kind of homes are being built and who can afford them. The article argued that adding homes priced beyond the reach of many residents may increase supply without materially improving housing security for those most affected by the crisis. (brighton-hove.gov.uk) Council-backed affordable schemes and market-led developments are therefore being judged against the same question: how much of the new housing stock is accessible to lower-income households. Brighton & Hove City Council has said Homes for Brighton & Hove is intended to provide "genuinely affordable housing for local people," while the Kingsthorpe Road plan is instead structured around an off-site contribution. (brightonjournal.co.uk) ### What happens next in the planning process? Brighton and Hove News reported on September 1 that the Kingsthorpe Road application was due before Brighton & Hove City Council's Planning Committee on Wednesday, September 2. The council says its Planning Committee meets at Hove Town Hall and is responsible for determining planning applications on the council's behalf. (brightonandhovenews.org) (brighton-hove.gov.uk)