THE old Royal Alexandra Hospital has been saved from the wreckers’ ball, after a long campaign against demolition by the Montpelier and Clifton Hill Association. This was a major victory for the association.
Taylor Wimpey’s plans to bulldoze the older buildings and replace them with 149 flats were turned down by the Brighton and Hove’s planning committee in December 2008.
    In May 2009 we defeated Taylor Wimpey’s plans at a public inquiry. We not only had to fight the developers, but also the council, which told the inquiry that it was happy to see the Alex demolished.  
Following this achievement we successfully pressed the council to draw up a proper planning brief for the site. But throughout this campaign we have been fighting not just the developers but also the council officers. One of the five options that the council put out for public consultation was to demolish everything on the site. This was clearly the option the officers preferred,
    As part of preparing the planning brief the council started an extremely low-key public consultation exercise in the autumn. The officers’ idea of public consultation was to write to six streets that border the site. Only 20 per cent of the people who objected to Taylor Wimpey’s plans came from these streets.
We told the council that there was much wider interest in the future of the Alex. We asked the council to write to everyone who had objected to the previous planning application. The council refused, saying it was too expensive.
So we printed 1500 leaflets and together with our colleagues in the West Hill Community Association distributed them to streets in the two conservation areas. We also gained valuable publicity for the consultation by linking up with Save the Royal Alex buildings from demolition Facebook site.
    As a result of all our efforts the public consultation exercise got a huge response. Nearly 93 per cent of people told the council they wanted to keep at least the impressive main building.
    At this point it was still touch and go whether we could save the Alex. The officers still intended to produce a report saying that the only economic option was to demolish the lot. We got wind of this and lobbied politicians, asking them to hire a conservation architect, someone who had practical experience in converting old buildings, to produce a report on converting the Alex.
    The officers said it would be too expensive. So we negotiated a fee with a conservation architect. At this point the politicians insisted that the council should hire a conservation architect. He said that two buildings on the site could be converted, the main building and Victorian villa on Dyke Road. He said that once converted both buildings could be listed.
The officers finally and grudgingly bowed to public opinion. And when the council finally produced its long-awaited planning brief in March, the brief it said that any developers must keep the main building, which has been a local landmark for 130 years. The brief was approved by Geoffrey Theobald, the council’s environment cabinet member, on 25 March. The brief also says that there is likely to be space for between 100 and 110 flats on the site.
    But this victory comes at a price. The hospital site has five buildings of historic and architectural interest. The main building, the Victorian villa and three turn-of-the-century red-brick buildings, which are largely hidden behind the main building. All three of these turn-of-the-century buildings will be demolished.
    The planning brief holds out only the vaguest glimmer of keeping the Victorian villa, which was built in the early 1860s and was once the grandest house on Dyke Road. But this too is pretty certain to go.
    “We are disappointed that the council is prepared to be so cavalier with our historic heritage. If this villa was still a private house, and not part of the hospital site, the council would never allow the owner to demolish it and replace it with a block of flats,” said the MCHA in a press statement.

Keeping the Alex safe and sound

Security at the Alex was a continuing problem for much of the past three years. The hoardings round the site were frequently blown down or removed by vandals and during the winter dossers were sleeping there.
The council has the power to ensure that listed buildings are kept secure and weather-tight. It can also insist on repairs to other buildings in a conservation area, provided it asks the government first.
After considerable pressure from the association the council asked the government late last year to give it legal powers to protect the Alex. The government agreed to this in April. This seems to be the first time that Brighton and Hove City Council has used this legislation.
As a direct result of our efforts there is now 24-hour security on the site to prevent the buildings being vandalised. And the council can now insist that Taylor Wimpey keeps the building weather-tight and the site secure. And if it fails to do this, the council can do the repairs itself—and send Taylor Wimpey the bill.