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Brighton and Hove City Council wants to turn a Grade II-listed hospital building into 500 homes, The Argus can reveal. Deputy Council Leader Jacob Taylor said the authority wants to work in partnership with owners Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust to create social housing at the Brighton General Hospital site in Elm Grove. This would include turning the Arundel Building into housing units, while also supporting the trust in building a long-awaited health hub on the land.
Deputy Council Leader Jacob Taylor and Cllr Ty Galvin in front of Brighton General Hospital (Image: Ramy Abou-Setta/The Argus) Cllr Taylor said: "This could be an amazing site that could be a win-win for the people of Brighton, the trust and the council." Brighton General Hospital is a 4.6 hectare site which currently houses the trust’s administrative offices and a range of community-based health and social care services, based in more than 20 buildings.
It is based on a steep slope, which the council has said makes it difficult to deliver services and for wheelchair-users, people with mobility issues and families with young children to access specialist clinics. Brighton General Hospital extends up the hill on Elm Grove (Image: Ramy Abou-Setta/The Argus) Cllr Taylor said it had "many bad and old condition buildings" which were no longer fit for purpose. But Cllr Taylor believes the site is "strategically located" for council housing.
He said: "It's not too far from town, it's on bus networks, it's near schools. "So really we want the trust to work with us, whether that's a plan that comes with Citizens UK, or whether it's the council and the trust working together, I think we could develop something really, really amazing here. "I think it really aligns with what the Labour Council are trying to do locally, and the Labour government are trying to do nationally.
"As clearly the big focus of the Labour government nationally, is to build as much housing as possible." READ MORE: Parking permits and car park charges could be rolled out to large villages The council will be meeting the trust in the coming days to present a financial plan for building the units. It was drafted with Citizens UK and Cornerstone, an ethical local social housing provider.
Cllr Taylor added: "Our plan, that we've been coming up with, is for 500 units up or down the site. "They will be eco-friendly, environmentally friendly units, which is very important. And of course, with solar panelling, that would provide all the electricity for the hub and for the dwellings.
" He added: "The council believe that any development of the Brighton General Hospital site should be for the benefit of the people of Brighton and Hove." Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust made the decision to sell off much of the site to private housing developers in 2018. Health bosses at the time said that they needed the money to build a new community health hub, housing all of the services currently offered on the site.
In 2020, the Trust sought to work up detailed plans and begin planning consultation with an aim to complete the new health hub by 2024 . But since then, no work has begun to build the new hub. Cllr Taylor said: "The trust want to build a new building, a health hub, but it could be in three, four, five years.
"We want to get on with it, and we know the trust want to get on with it. They've obviously got their own financial constraints and timelines, but really. "It will be easier for everybody if the council and the trust work together.
If the trust try and go ahead with a private developer, that's not going to bring the local people with them. "If you can work with the council and you can get a good amount of affordable housing in there, it's going to be sort of win-win for everybody." Cllr Taylor told The Argus that it was "not out of the question" for the council to buy the site from the trust outright.
He said: "That's not a proposal that we've made yet, but we've looked at it, we think it might be possible." Grade II listed Arundel Building which will be used for housing (Image: Ramy Abou-Setta / The Argus) Cllr Ty Galvin who represents the Hanover and Elm Grove ward emphasised the importance of Brighton General Hospital "serving the people of Brighton" as it has done since 1865. Ty highlighted a corner stone in the Grade II listed Arundel Building which read "For the poor of the parish of Brighton".
He said: "This hospital has been serving the community for over a century, and it should continue to do so. "Social housing with the inclusion of the residents of Brighton is vital, as this hospital has been amidst the community since 1865. "There is even the remit to produce housing for key workers, but it is important that the trust works alongside the council so that the residents can be included and be involved in what happens with the site.
"If private investment is chosen as the way forward, the residents will have no say." The cornerstone in Arundel Building which was laid in 1865 (Image: Ramy Abou-Setta/The Argus) When the Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust was asked about the proposed partnership and what this could mean for the future of the site, it said that its priority remains with its patients. A spokeswoman said: “We are meeting with Brighton and Hove City Council to understand their proposals for partnership.
"Our patients remain our upmost priority, and any decisions regarding the future of the site at Brighton General Hospital would follow due processes, including effective engagement with the local community.”.
