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People in Patcham have told of their stress and dismay over the proposals for a new distribution centre in Vale Avenue.
The scheme was approved on Wednesday by Brighton and Hove City Council despite more than 1,000 objections from residents as well as representation from Brighton and Hove Wildlife Forum, the Brighton Society, Patcham and Hollingbury Conservation Association and the Patcham Local History Group.
The Royal Mail wants to demolish the existing farm buildings in Vale Avenue and build the distribution hub with “associated access, parking, landscaping and infrastructure”.
“It is honestly too upsetting to even begin speaking about,” said Irene Cusack who has lived in Vale Avenue with her husband Bert for more than 20 years.
”It has left me so stressed and upset that they have approved the plans.
“We have lived here for over 20 years and we have seen so many planning applications for the land opposite our house be rejected. From a hotel, to a supermarket and even an amusement park, they have all been rejected for the congestion, pollution and just overall chaos it would cause in our area.
“But as soon as a Royal Mail depot gets put through, which has considerably more consequences for our area than all the former proposals, it gets pushed forward quite quickly and with ease despite all the objections.”
Irene suffered a stroke due to increased stress last year. She said:” This whole situation has been so stressful and upsetting that it has left me feeling a bit poorly. Last year I suffered a stroke and I must say that that the stress caused by the whole planning situation may have been one of the reasons.
“At one point we even had two men who were sent down from the council asking us to take down a banner we had on our gate that was in opposition to the Royal Mail depot.
“The men were doing their jobs and were actually quite good, but the fact that the council wanted us to take down a banner on our own property said a lot.
“I would now say that I’m embarrassed to live in Brighton, it used to be such a beautiful city but it has been ruined.”
Fellow resident Jill Carr, whose son owns plots of land near the old farm buildings in Vale Avenue, said: “It is a chaotic situation which has left so many of the residents that live here completely upset.
“The construction and work that will be going on is just going to be absolutely horrendous – all the trees that are going to be destroyed, the congestion that will be increased after they build the new entrance for the depot, the fleet of electric vans going back and forth and the fact that it will be 24/7 will ruin this area for us.
“This is not even to mention the flooding issues that we already have in this area, all the water that used to be soaked up in that area where is going to go?”
Earlier this year Patcham dealt with raw sewage flooding a bus stop outside Jasmine Court which leaked into a residential area.
At the time resident Rebecca Kimber had told The Argus: “There was no rain in the area on Saturday so the sewage was not a result of storm overflows, it was the result of years of development and lack of maintenance and investment in crumbling infrastructure.”
Flooding is an ongoing issue in the area and residents are concerned the depot will only make matters worse.
Brighton Pavilion MP Sian Berry raised her concerns after the council decision on Wednesday.
She said:” When even Southern Water don’t seem wholly confident about Royal Mail’s plans, saying they need more ‘conversations’ about mitigations, alarm bells should be ringing.
“The conditions imposed alone do not make this a safe development.
“I will do what I can to support my constituents with the next steps to ensure that conditions are not breached and that further mitigations are considered wherever possible.”
Royal Mail drainage expert John Lea Wilson, a civil engineer from consultants Mott MacDonald, has said the drainage strategy was sustainable and run-off would not infiltrate the aquifer because the site would be lined with an impermeable membrane.
The Royal Mail’s director of real estate Paul Bridson told councillors at the planning meeting that the two existing sorting offices in Denmark Villas, Hove, and North Road, Brighton, were no longer suitable for the business.
Mr Bridson said: “After years of searching for a suitable site, this (Patcham Court Farm) 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.
“Patcham will be a flagship development for the Royal Mail, on a sustainable site in the UK, and represents a long-term investment in Brighton and Hove which will ensure a consistent and efficient mail service across the city.”
Paul Mannix, or Mr Poo as he has become known as during his campaign against the depot, said: ”There is so much that is not being considered to its fullest extent when it comes to the approval of the planning application.
“There is the sound pollution that will be caused by the increase in road traffic and HGV going in and out of the depot, the light pollution to all the residents next to depot as the lights will be on all night and the sewage and drainage system which is another huge matter altogether.
“At the committee meeting the few supporting points and comments were given the same weight as the over a thousand objections, that just doesn’t seem right and quite frankly ridiculous.”
Residents said they have been calling for the council to consider alternative regeneration plans for the site. Many agree it should be developed but with something more sustainable.
Rebecca Fellingham, Paul’s partner, said:” Any resident you talk to agrees that the site should be repurposed and redeveloped, just not with a Royal Mail depot.
“A social housing site would be a project and plan a lot of the residents could get behind, but an entire industrial operation is just not something that will be good in our area, especially when it can cause more problems with the sewage and drainage system and have lorries trying to climb up a steep and narrow hill. It will cause pandemonium.”
Councillors voted seven to two in favour of the depot after hearing from residents and a Royal Mail property director during a three-hour session at Hove Town Hall on Wednesday.
Patcham residents protested outside and filled the public gallery to show their opposition.
