‘Royal Mail’s proposal would be a disaster’

In 1921, the Marquess of Abergavenny, who owned much of the land around Brighton, sold 1,300 acres. The Brighton Commissioners (the forerunner of Brighton Borough Council) were outbid by Thomas Gasson, a property speculator. The Commissioners had hoped to buy the land to protect the town’s water supply.

Gasson immediately sold off small plots at Sweet Hill to the north of Patcham Village, often to returning soldiers who had been promised “homes fit for heroes”.

But the homes were inadequate, sometimes old Army huts with no gas or electricity, and cesspits were built for sewerage. Human waste percolated through the chalky Downs, contaminating the drinking water that the town relied on.

Brighton Council appealed to Parliament which enacted the Brighton Corporation Water Act, 1924. It empowered “the county borough of Brighton to purchase lands and exercise further powers for the prevention of contamination of their water supply and for other purposes of their water undertaking”.

The act described how the town’s “supply of water is derived from the chalk formation by means of pumping stations and wells collecting chambers …” and that the new powers were “expedient for the purpose of preventing the contamination of and ensuring the continued purity of the water …”.

The settlements were disbanded, the residents paid off or rehoused and the quality of Brighton’s water supply was protected. In fact, the quality of Brighton’s water became an exemplar for other areas, representatives of which would visit the town to see why our water was so good.

Until now.

But this is not yet another account of the abysmal failings of Southern Water but one about Royal Mail which currently has sorting offices in North Road, Brighton, and Denmark Villas, Hove. It wishes to replace these with one at Patcham Court Farm, north of the Patcham Village Conservation Area. There are so many reasons why this is the worst possible proposal.

Originally the plan was to allow the city council to build social housing on the redundant sites in North Road and Denmark Villas in exchange for Patcham Court Farm, which the council owns.

But now Royal Mail is seeking to maximise its return on these sites, repeating the scenario of 1921 which would price the council out. On that basis alone, the council (which will argue that it needs the money) should take Patcham Court Farm off the table in its discussions with Royal Mail.

From a planning perspective, the proposal for a new sorting office at Patcham Court Farm would have a huge detrimental impact on the Conservation Area with, potentially, many hundreds of vehicle movements daily through a quiet residential street, including a dozen or so heavy goods vehicle movements each day.

The likes of you and me will need to go all the way to this new sorting office. We will need to travel from Saltdean, Woodingdean, Portslade, Mile Oak and Hangleton, as well as the city centre, to collect our post and packages.

That might be fine if you own a car but those of us who do not will have to rely on buses and the location is certainly not well served by public transport. It’s as if Royal Mail isn’t too concerned about the service it provides …!

But from an environmental perspective, the proposal is a disaster. An industrial development of this nature at Patcham Court Farm will exacerbate the flood risk to Patcham Village. Modelling allows for flooding every 100 years, but the reality is the village has flooded many times over the years.

With the current undeveloped site being built over, there’s a risk that surface water won’t be sufficiently absorbed into the ground, running off into neighbouring streets and properties.

Servicing of vehicles will take place on site. This could result in contaminants being spilled and absorbed into the ground, possibly entering the water table and being pumped into underground reservoirs that serve the city. I drink two litres of tap water every day. I don’t fancy drinking water polluted by Royal Mail.

For more information about the proposal, the suitability of the site and the implications for water purity and flooding risk, have a look at the very informative website developed by the group of local residents who are opposing the planning application (https://www.patchamagainstroyalmail.uk).

You will find details of how to lodge your objections which should be submitted by tomorrow (August 3) but late submissions can also be considered.