Preston barracks marching forward with £150 million plans

The barracks on Lewes Road were completed in 1793 as a response to the French revolution and were built to house artillery and cavalry units including stables for 1,000 horses. The buildings were used for numerous battles and other purposes throughout the years and the southern end of the site was largely demolished in 1990 with the area now known as the Pavilion retail park.

There have been talks for many years on the re-development of the site and a planning application has now been submitted through a partnership between Brighton University and developers U+I Group who were also involved in the Circus Street re-development near London Road.  Plans are now moving forward with work potentially beginning shortly on the proposed £150 million site that has been vacant for the last 20 years. The designs have been scrutinised over the past year through community engagement and have seen some changes, including 19 additional homes, reduction to the height of the buildings and additional community facilities.

The proposals include 369 new homes, a new home for Brighton Uni’s Business School and 1,338 student rooms which is good news for first time buyers and investors! Not great for many of those students as this will unfortunately not come close to the additional accommodation needed for students looking to enrol later this year. The site is predicted to create over 1,000 new jobs and a further £500 million boost to the local economy.

The plans should be finalised and a decision made this summer, we are keen to see the final plans and happy that the council are pushing forward plans to redevelop Brighton’s vacant brownfield sites.