I wrote this article for The Brighton Society
Whether it’s the construction of ‘progressive’ lifestyles (and the offices and luxury apartments to match) or the embrace of certain ‘progressive’ causes, the ‘town hall’ apparatchiks who initiate these makeovers are driven by ideals concealed from the public.
We seldom tackle the fact that those making planning decisions often see things completely differently to the public. The Edward Street Quarter (ESQ) development now rising from the old Amex House site is typically seen by the community living closest to it as a cliff-face of bloated overdevelopment. In 2018, the officials and committee members who approved the development, described ESQ in glowing terms using phrases like ‘simply beautiful’. Two years on, for local residents, for workers passing by on buses, any ‘beauty’ that emerges won’t alter perceptions that the ESQ represents unaffordable housing driven by corporate profit margins. It’s something most of us dislike – so that’s what we see. To the planners, the development might be bloated but it represents 110,000 sq ft of space for the city’s booming media and creative sectors and 168 units of new homes slashed off a government imposed target… ipso facto its ‘progress’ so that’s what they see.
[Read More: https://www.brighton-society.org.uk/cancelled/]