The Green Party is proposing a “deep green” housing project that would help to reduce the city’s shortage of affordable housing which, together with transport, is high on the list of barriers to future prosperity.

The 1.5 hectare site at the junction of the A23/A27 is identified in the Local Plan as an employment site with high-tech offices being the obvious choice for development.

Brighton & Hove Council is currently undertaking an Employment Land Study (ELS) to assess our future employment land needs as part of the preparations for the emerging Local Development Framework (LDF) and until this is complete it would be difficult to change the allocation of this plot to housing.

The Brighton & Hove Economic Partnership (BHEP) is represented on the steering group for the ELS and its own estimates would indicate that there is likely to be a need to identify additional employment land to meet the requirements of future generations.

If employment space is lost in the city, increasing numbers of companies will have to relocate to accommodate their expansion requirements. This is already a problem and we have lost employers in the recent past as they search for the high quality office space that is in short supply in the city. At all costs we must avoid becoming a dormitory town for workers who commute to London and other parts of the county. The recent clamour from four major employers for the giant City Park development in Hove is testament to the precariousness of our position.