Decision due on new sports hall and pitch for Brighton secondary school

A decision is due to be made on Wednesday (July 18) when Brighton and Hove City Council’s planning committee discusses the plans.

The school has applied for planning permission for a new sports hall, an artificial pitch for football, rugby and hockey and floodlit netball and tennis courts.

Headteacher John McKee said: “This is a massively important decision for the school. An all-weather pitch and sports hall will transform our sports facilities and ensure a healthier future for a new generation of children.”

The council has received 91 objections and 321 letters of support for the project.

Patcham councillors and Carol Theobald, Geoffrey Theobald and Lee Wares support the project but have asked for flood prevention work.

They would like part of a proposed £15,000 contribution towards sustainable transport be spent on real-time bus information boards in the area.

In a joint letter they wrote: “As the proposal will improve young people’s health and wellbeing, improve their sporting capabilities, will offer a wider range of sports and for those sports to be available all year round, we hope that the application is granted permission.

“At present, many outdoor sporting activities are prevented during parts of the year due to the wet ground conditions of the grassed playing fields.

“Further, the proposal will benefit the wider community providing local facilities that presently do not exist.”

Flooding was listed among the concerns by people objecting to the scheme, along with noise, parking problems and the impact of floodlights on neighbours.

A report to councillors supports the scheme, with conditions. One of these would limit the hours of use to 8am to 9pm Monday to Friday and 9am to 4pm on Saturdays, Sundays, bank holidays and public holidays.

The council’s planning committee is due to discuss the application at Hove Town Hall on Wednesday (July 18).

The meeting is due to start at 1pm and should be open to the public.

Sarah Booker-Lewis is the Local Democracy Reporter for Brighton & Hove.

For more of her stories, click here.