Brighton requires its own mass transit transport system, the city council’s environment chief has said.

Nick Hibberd, the south coast authority’s Executive Director for Economy, Environment & Culture said that buses and trams could help to reduce the city’s congestion because they require less road space: “We need to move toward more sustainable modes of transport and that must involve mass transit.” [emaillocker id=”71749″]

But he was not “not necessarily convinced that fixed rail is the way forward” given the constraints posed by Brighton’s heritage buildings and hilly topography, and that a better option for the coastal city might be more flexible ‘tram-like’ buses, which would also require less investment than a fixed rail.

He also told delegates that Brighton’s future prospects as a regional retail destination were buttressed by its broad range of other attractions. The council has recently agreed land acquisitions with Aberdeen Standard Life to “significantly” extend the Churchill Square mall, which is the main focus for retail in the city.

Hibberd acknowledged that Brighton’s retail sector faces “massive structural challenges”, like other towns and cities, but shop vacancy rates are well below the national average. This was partly, he said, thanks to the blend of independent shops found in the Laines area and the Churchill Square multiple retailer focus.

He said: “We know retail is about experience and Brighton can offer that because we have a vibrant visitor economy. That will cement the future of the city and protect the retail sector.”

Hibberd also said the council is “thinking about” siting containers on undeveloped plots as temporary homes for the city’s population of rough sleepers, which currently numbers around 100. The housing needs of Brighton, where the typical three-bedroom homes costs 16 times the average salary, is also being addressed by the council’s housebuilding programme.

Katie Sullivan, Managing Director of Brighton Marina, told delegates that phase two of its expansion scheme, should receive planning permission in the autumn. Phase one of the development, which received planning permission in 2006, was completed in 2016, but the rest of the scheme was never built.

She said Squire and Partners have replaced the original development’s Stirling Prize winning architect Wilkinson Eyre to design a new scheme. The £240m project features 1,000 units, more than planned in the original scheme, by increasing the density.

The landmark tower from the existing consent will be retained, acting as marker for the scheme when viewed from nearby Brighton city centre. The rest of the units will be housed in nine buildings ranging in height from eight to 22 storeys.

The design of the scheme is intended to knit into the development emerging to the north of the marina, Sullivan said: “It will anticipate development to the north, ensuring that isn’t piecemeal development on the margin but will slot into the masterplan for the surrounding areas.”

She said the company hopes to be on site early next year with construction due to take two to three years.

Julian Raison, Head of Construction at Gatwick Airport, told delegates that plans to bring forward a second runway will be unveiled later this the summer. A draft master plan, which sets out Gatwick’s growth scenarios up to 2032, was published last October, laying out options for delivering the second runway. These included using a standby landing strip and reserving land for a completely new runway.

Raison said that Gatwick’s owners plan to invest a further £1.11bn by 2023, including £266m in 2018/19 alone. The next phase of the airport’s development includes a £30m contribution to the £100m revamp of Gatwick railway station, which is due to start on site within 12 to 18 months with a view to completion by the end of 2022.

He also said the board has just signed off £40m to develop new multi-storey car parks at the airport’s south and north terminals, which will deliver an additional 1500 and 3100 spaces respectively. The programme also includes the roll out biometric auto boarding technology at its planned extension of pier 6, which will create six new aircraft stands.

And the final phase of the north terminal redevelopment, which will create an expanded mezzanine level boasting an additional 650 sq m of food and beverage space, is due to open in September, relieving pressure on a part of the airport that is in particularly heavy demand during the early morning.

Sue McHugh, Director of Campus Development at the University of Brighton, outlined progress on the institution’s ‘Big Build’ programme to transform its Moulsecoomb campus, which is due to be completed by the summer of 2021.

She said the university is due to appoint a contractor “very shortly” for the campus’ new academic building, which will provide a new home for the university’s business school.

Work is due to commences in the autumn on the building which has been designed by Hassall Architects, with a view to completion in the summer of 2021. In addition, she said work on new student accommodation had begun in January and is due to be completed in September 2021.

John Gill, Business Development Director at Network Rail, said that the state owned infrastructure provider had assembled a top quality team for the next phase of the upgrade the London to Brighton rail line in a bid to minimise the disruption that previous works had caused: “We have the best team possible to tackle operational elements: the people who operate this part of the network are the best available.”

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