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The Royal Mail’s plans to build a new base in Patcham could have harmful effects on the water supply for the whole of Brighton and Hove, an engineer has warned.
The plans also look likely to waste millions of gallons of water a year and could also increase the risk of people’s homes flooding in parts of Patcham, he said.
James Rhodes, a research and development engineer and numerical analyst, criticised the scheme to build a new Royal Mail distribution centre on a site as sensitive as Patcham Court Farm.
Several hundred neighbours have already objected – and today (Friday 26 August) is the formal deadline for sending comments on the plans to Brighton and Hove City Council (see below).
The three-acre plot, in Vale Avenue, is above a chalk aquifer – a natural layer of rock which catches and filters rain water – and adits, or shafts, built by the Victorians.
The adits help feed water from the aquifer to the pumping station at Waterhall where it is processed and from where drinking water is piped to Brighton and Hove and surrounding areas.
But the Royal Mail’s plans for the site would mean that water that would otherwise have soaked into the aquifer, feeding the local water supply, would instead end up in the sewers.
Dr Rhodes said: “Development on this site will mean that water that would otherwise have gone to the aquifer will have to be collected and thrown away.
“It will reduce Brighton’s possible available water supply now and in the future – and millions of gallons of water will be wasted.
“Under the proposal, all rainfall from the 1.3 hectares of land will be stored and directed to the sewer at a rate of five litres per second.
“This means that for every millimetre of rain, 13 metric tonnes, or 13,000 litres, will literally be thrown away. It is hard not to imagine what this could amount to in a year.
“By contrast, a garden hose uses between 10 to 15 litres per minute depending on water pressure – so consider how much water will be wasted.
“Of course, hosepipes have been banned in Sussex because it’s important to conserve water.”
Rebecca Kimber, who is co-ordinating the Patcham Against the Royal Mail (PARM) community campaign, said: “We’re experiencing the driest year on record since 1935 – so it’s nuts for Royal Mail to tarmac over a natural water system at this time.
How the proposed Royal Mail premises in Patcham could look
“The strain on our water supplies will only get worse with climate change and this development will waste drinkable water and reduce Brighton’s water supplies.
“We need to be protecting our natural water systems for future generations.”
If the Royal Mail is allowed to build a new distribution centre in Patcham, it plans to close its premises in North Road, Brighton, and Denmark Villas, Hove.
The two existing sites have been earmarked primarily for housing, with talks currently taking place that could pave the way for scores of low-cost homes.
To see the plans and to comment on them, visit the council’s website here and search for planning application BH2022/02232.
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