The application going before Brighton and Hove City Council’s Planning Committee on Wednesday 4 September is to demolish the existing farm buildings in Vale Avenue and build the distribution centre with “associated access, parking, landscaping and infrastructure”.
There are 1,163 individual objections to the application, including representations from Brighton and Hove Wildlife Forum, the Brighton Society, Patcham and Hollingbury Conservation Association and the Patcham Local History Group.
Concerns raised include the impact of more heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) in the area, increased pollution, the impact on neighbours and potential contamination of the drinking water supply.
Since the proposals were first put forward in 2021, people in Patcham have campaigned against the project, holding protests outside Brighton and Hove Town Halls during council, cabinet and planning meetings during the last three months.
Campaigners are particularly concerned about the impact on groundwater sources under the farm which supplies Brighton and Hove with its drinking water.
They are also worried about the impact on the already over-loaded sewers in the village.
Drainage expert David Harris, who worked for Brighton Borough Council as a drainage surveyor, has shared his concerns about the potential impact of the project.
He shares a daily alert with Patcham residents, monitoring groundwater levels to warn people when their cellars are likely to flood – and excess water can rise high enough to cause surface flooding.
The octogenarian said: “The infrastructure downstream can’t stand it. We are so close to flooding now across the whole year. It occurs in the winter but there are increased incidents of flooding.
“When the groundwater floods, it inundates the sewers, bringing sewage to the surface, creating a health risk. It’s not morally possible to develop that site. It cannot stand it.”
Plans would see the demolition of the existing agricultural buildings and the clearance of scrub land to build a 4,145sqm storage and distribution facility to be used as a delivery office for Royal Mail.
The property was part of a wider agricultural holding that was separated from the main farm by the construction of the A27. Currently one building is used by a fencing company while the others been vacant for some years.
A flood risk assessment for the Royal Mail scheme by the engineering consultancy Mott MacDonald said that the “impermeable area” on the site would more than double if the scheme went ahead.
Mott MacDonald recommended that the site be developed as though it were greenfield land rather than a brownfield site with drainage routes.
Former Brighton Pavilion MP Caroline Lucas objected twice to the application stating her concerns about the impact on the water supply and transport assessments failing to take into account the Royal Mail’s business models.
Patcham and Hollingbury ward councillors Alistair McNair and Anne Meadows have also sent two objections raising concerns about parking, bus services, environmental impact and the stability of the land which has sinkholes, fissures and voids.
In one of their letters, the councillors said: “The parking provision is inadequate for up to 400 employees on-site with just 85 bays available.
“This is a highly residential area already lacking in parking provision. The area acts as an unofficial park and ride area used by those who then car share, and there is football parking which spills over into this area.
“The Royal Mail proposal has already shown in their own submissions that 46 per cent of staff will use their cars for convenience.
“This is because there is no adequate bus service for the early morning shifts, and there is still a considerable walk to the site from the nearest bus stop which the proposal claims are merely 700 metres away.”
Brighton and Hove Conservation Advisory Group also object to the application.
There are 13 individuals who have supported the application supporting the use of a vacant site, reduction of the number of HGVs travelling down London Road and less pollution in the city centre.
Committee members are advised to be “minded to grant” subject to planning agreements which, should they grant permission, need to be completed by Wednesday 27 November.
The “heads of terms” include a five-year travel plan, £64,790 towards work on the A27 junction for interchange at Patcham, live bus information for delivery office staff in the canteen and an agreement with Brighton and Hove Buses to divert early morning buses the 5 and 5A outside the development for at least a year.
Highway work includes creating new site access from Vale Avenue, widening multiple footpaths, creating a pedestrian refuge on the A23, two new pedestrian crossings on Vale Avenue and improving bus stops.
An air quality appraisal contribution of £33,626 is requested, and £19,505 towards biodiversity net gain monitoring.
A developer contribution of £20,725 towards training and apprentice placements is also requested.
Development would not be occupied until an external light design strategy is submitted as the area is a breeding and resting site for bats and dormice.
Lighting must also not impact on the South Downs National Park Dark Skies Reserve status.
If the project goes ahead on the 1.57-hectare site then the Royal Mail’s sorting offices in North Road, Brighton and Denmark Villas, Hove, will be freed up for housing development.
Brighton and Hove City Council would also generate at approximately £8 million from a 125-year lease on the farm site.
Councillors have not yet agreed to a long lease as the potential sale was withdrawn from a policy and resources committee meeting in July 2022, and has not been presented since.
The planning committee is due to meet at 2pm at Hove Town Hall on Wednesday 4 September. The meeting is scheduled for webcast on the council website.