Petition to save children's play centre in Hove

This comes after a proposal by developer Cross Stone Securities to create 104 flats and additional offices on the School Road site which also includes a church and an art studio.

David McLaughlin, owner of soft play centre Westows, in School Road, started the petition to pressure Brighton and Hove City Council to retain children’s leisure space in the area.

“I understand the need for more housing in the area,” said Mr McLaughlin, “But they need to give people facilities as well.”

Mr McLaughlin said Westows is one of only four comparable centres in a 25-mile radius, with a combined capacity of just 1,500.

He said he does not oppose the re-development in principle but says local amenities have vanished amid pressure to provide more accommodation.

“They’re building on every square foot of land that can be built on,” he said, noting the loss of the YMCA on nearby Marmion Road, which made way for five new houses.

In a formal objection to the plan submitted to the council, resident Steve Cotterill said: “There should be some effort to accommodate a like-for-like facility in such a big development.”

In another public comment submitted to the council, Dave West, a resident of Alpine Road, said: “Public services are already at breaking point.”

Mr McLaughlin said School Road had become noticeably more crowded during his 14 years of operating at the site.

“The facilities in the area can’t support more families,” he said, adding that if building continued at its current rate ‘there’ll be wall-to-wall houses with nowhere to go’.

As part of the deal, Cross Stone would contribute £288,990 to the local authority to compensate for the loss of the play area.

However, some feel this does not go far enough, as there is no requirement for the council to reinvest that money into west Hove specifically.

The site is also home to Red Herring Studio, a creative space for 23 artists in Hove, which said the ‘gentrification’ of the area was pushing artists out of the city.

The application is due to go before the council’s planning committee in April.

More than 100 residents have already lodged objections, citing concerns about increased traffic and school places.