Between 180 and 200 people attended a demonstration to listen to campaign leaders (July 31) and hundreds more have voiced their objections online (Image: Jeff Woodall Photography)
Residents in Patcham have launched a defiant community campaign to voice objections to a planned new Royal Mail site near the edge of Brighton. It comes after up to 200 people attended a protest to listen to campaigners a week ago at the entrance to the proposed development on Vale Avenue near the A27.
Hundreds more have since left comments on the council’s planning portal, with 705 voicing objections - up from 202 before the demonstration (July 29) - and eight supporting the plans. This means leaders of Patcham Against Royal Mail have reached their target of 600 responses by August 10.
A community clinic event was organised last weekend (August 6 and 7) to provide a chance for older members of the community and those without access to the internet to comment. This was needed because organisers said some people and issues had “slipped under the radar”.
Referring to the online consultations in January, campaigner Rebecca Kimber said: “There are a lot of older people here and essentially they are digitally excluded.” She then described Patcham as an idyllic village at the edge of Brighton and said she is worried its character will be lost if plans go ahead.
Mike Howard, 67 and Rebecca Kimber, 43 by the proposed site for the new Royal Mail development in Brighton (Image: Martin Burton/SussexLive)
Ms Kimber added that door-knocking has shown entire streets in Patcham are opposed to the plans with reasons ranging from traffic pollution and environmental impact to disruption to the city’s water supply. The 43-year-old - who has lived in the area since the early 1990s - said she remembered flooding in 2000 and spoke of a similar event in the 1960s.
She said the proposed site sits on a groundwater protection zone with the underground Wellesbourne river flowing parallel to the road and toward the city centre. Ms Kimber also claimed the development is not sustainable based on flood risk assessments which mean the water table may become unbalanced.
“We are just keen to put the facts in front of people and realistically raise awareness,” she continued. “The whole of the town is a water collection because of the chalk and we’re tarmacking all over it.
“The more tarmacking that goes on down in the town the more places there are for the water not to go. So the pressure up here increases and it's really dangerous.”
Another prominent campaigner for Patcham Against Royal Mail, Mike Howard, highlighted the number of cars that already use Vale Avenue as a cut-through, as well as residents that already park in the area. He said “standard parking” will see around 35 cars left at the side of the road by residents who have nowhere else to park.
Roads in Patcham are already lined with the parked cars of residents (Image: Martin Burton/SussexLive)
“Vale Avenue down here, people park on either side of the road and that’s effectively a single-lane road,” the 67-year-old said. “You have got a blind brow of the hill which is within 200 feet of the entrance as well.”
He added that at all times of the day - and especially when there is an event on nearby - the area can “clog up with traffic” in what he described as an unofficial park and ride. “Imagine, it will be 24 hours a day with trucks coming in from Heathrow, Gatwick, and London to bring parcels in. You will have a complete deterioration of quiet village life.”
Brighton and Hove City Council announced it had withdrawn reports due to be considered on the sale of Patcham Court Farm so that officers can continue to explore every viable option for housing on the sites being vacated by Royal Mail.
Patcham Against Royal Mail explained this meant the sale of the lease had been put on hold. They said it could be brought up again as soon as September or October.
Campaigners fear increased traffic will deteriorate village life (Image: Martin Burton/SussexLive)
A spokesperson for the council added: “Our intention is for this matter to be referred back to our policy and resources committee once we feel councillors have all information they need to make an informed and fully considered decision. At this stage, we haven’t set a date for this to happen.”
A Royal Mail spokesperson commented on the matter and said: “The planning application has now been submitted to Brighton & Hove City Council. We are now in the early stages of discussions with the local planning authority and statutory consultees on a range of matters, and the local planning authority is carrying out its own consultation on the proposals.
“Pre-application consultation began in January 2022. Over 2,500 local addresses were sent an invitation to provide feedback on draft proposals and more recently have been sent an update newsletter, which sets out what changes have been made to the scheme in response to feedback. We continue to engage with the local community.”
Patcham Against Royal Mail acknowledged the plans would be difficult to stop but said success for them would be for the development to move to a different site.