The site is located in the centre of Brighton and in an area of which is designated by Brighton and Hove City Council as an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA).
The scheme included the demolition of the existing retail buildings and the construction of 156 rooms of student accommodation with 5,000 m2 of retail space on the ground floor fronting London Road. The scheme also included two large external student courtyards and ground floor communal space.
The Environmental Health Officer at Brighton and Hove Council raised concerns relating to the introduction of student accommodation on London Road, due to the high number of idling buses along this section of road resulting in localised poor air quality. The air quality technical team therefore worked with the design team to ensure air quality mitigation was embedded into the design. Such measures included; siting student accommodation from the first floor and away from bus emissions, the introduction of enclosed courtyards at the rear of the development where air quality is improved, the use of transient communal space to the rear at ground floor of the scheme, and inclusion of emergency life-safety generators with low emissions. This approach was positively received by the local authority.
During determination, a number of objections were raised by local residents on the grounds of air quality. Working with McLaren Group, post submission support was provided, including non-technical responses to local residents through written responses and online consultation. Subsequently planning permission was granted.
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