Controversial mail centre in Patcham gets approval

An application to build a postal distribution centre on a disused farm site in Patcham has been approved by Brighton and Hove City Council despite opposition.

Royal Mail said the location of the development is the "only site" suitable to replace two out-of-date sorting offices.

Campaigners, who staged a demonstration outside the planning committee meeting on Wednesday, claim the development will increase flood risks, sewage leaks and traffic.

Local resident Rebecca Kimber told the meeting: “When the sewer is at capacity, filled with groundwater, where will this extra 16,200 tonnes of water per hour be going? Will it back up and start appearing on the surface, contaminated with sewage in residents’ gardens or in their homes?”

The Royal Mail wants to demolish the existing farm buildings, in Vale Avenue, and build a distribution centre with “associated access, parking, landscaping and infrastructure”.

Councillors voted 7-2 in favour of the scheme during the three-hour session at Hove Town Hall, which was attended by residents a Royal Mail representative, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Brighton Pavilion's Green MP Sian Berry said she was "disappointed" by the decision.

Conservative councillor Anne Meadows raised concerns about the impact on the neighbouring conservation area, particularly the 12th century All Saints Patcham church, which is recorded in the Domesday Book.

She said: “Unfortunately, the building regulations of the day did not envisage 20 lorries passing by every day.

“The vibrations of such heavy traffic just metres away will have grave implications for the church but also the cottages that equally don’t have great foundations."

Royal Mail drainage expert John Lea Wilson said the drainage strategy was sustainable and run-off would not infiltrate the aquifer because the site would be lined with an impermeable membrane.

He told the committee that the drainage and flood risk plans would improve the situation in Patcham where there have long been problems with flooding.

Paul Bridson, director of real estate at the Royal Mail, told councillors the two existing sorting offices - in Denmark Villas, Hove, and North Road, Brighton - were no longer suitable for the business.

He said: “This is the only site in Brighton and Hove that will allow us to keep around 360 jobs in the city and give substantial environmental benefits."

Posting on X, formerly Twitter, Ms Berry said: "The risks of this plan for road danger, water pollution and flooding are high and I’m disappointed the committee chose to accept them.

"I’ll keep supporting residents."

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