Change to intercom at Hove flats disrupts deliveries

Victoria Phillips, 38, lives in a flat in a building on Knoll Close in Hove, which previously attracted anti-social behaviour.

“We had teenagers coming and smashing bottles and smoking,” she said.

In a bid to tackle this, back in October 2024, Brighton and Hove City Council changed the 24-hour intercom to the building’s lobby to 9am to 1pm.

But on most days, post isn’t delivered to the building until 3.30pm, which means that the postman is often unable to access the lobby.

“I’ve missed dental and GP appointments because I haven’t received my post,” Victoria said.

“I have to pick things up from the post office or get them re-delivered.

“He presses a trade button which is now on a timer, so he has to hope someone [a resident] can buzz him in.

“Most of the time he can’t get into that main lobby and there is no letter box. He gets as frustrated as I do.”

The University of Sussex student says she reported the problem to the council, who informed her they cannot change the intercom unless they had permission from everyone in the block.

“It has been going on for a year, and I don’t hold out much hope that everyone will respond to the council,” she said.

After The Argus made the contact with BHCC, the council has since changed the intercom to allow access from 9am till 5pm.

 Councillor Gill Williams, cabinet member for housing at Brighton and Hove City Council, said: “We engage with residents over any changes to their communal door entry systems and our residents always have access to their homes and the ability to allow access to visitors for deliveries.

“We do sometimes limit the times for wider access because of security concerns from residents or to reduce potential anti-social behaviour, but Royal Mail is always provided with fobs so its staff are still able to access our buildings to deliver post. That was the case here.

“It isn’t our intention to negatively impact people, though, so we have consulted with residents in this specific block to better understand any concerns which may have arisen since October 2024.

 “As a result of subsequent agreement between residents, we have now updated the timings on the trades button to allow access between 9am and 5pm.”