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A second Community Newsletter from Brighton College is circulating promoting Brighton College’s contribution to the community around its campus. This charm offensive follows significant resistance from locals to Brighton College’s latest expansion plans.
BC’s most recent planning application to convert the existing Prep school at 2 Walpole Road into boarding accommodation for over 150 pupils, causing the need for it to build a replacement Prep school at its St Mary’s site, has caused a revolt.
So BC has appointed a Community Liaison Officer to handle public relations with the local community, oversee a range of ‘community-washing’ projects and produce a newsletter to publicise their activities. BC hopes to quell the resistance while its planning application is processed.
Brighton College becomes aggressively expansionist
Until the 1980s, Brighton College was a small private school with fewer than 500 pupils. It was part of Kemptown, which was known for its social values of tolerance, equality, diversity, freedom (of expression and personal) and inclusivity, and relations between the school and residents were relaxed and friendly.
But in 2006, Brighton College changed.
It became more aggressively expansionist and hungry for status. It began a major building programme (its so-called ‘Masterplan’), bought up properties in Kemptown, including dwelling houses, and converted them into boarding houses for its pupils and began setting up campuses overseas. Judging from its actions, its core values had become status, competition and acquisitiveness.
Belatedly, Kemptown residents saw the threat and began to fear that Kemptown would be swamped by Brighton College. In 2023/4, residents objected to three houses in Walpole Road being knocked into one large boarding house, the council agreed and denied planning permission. And when BC appealed the council’s decision, the Secretary of State also agreed with residents and the council. BC’s appeal FAILED (these houses are now occupied by pupils and staff without appropriate planning permission).
The College’s latest planning application
In January 2025 Brighton College submitted a planning application to:
Convert the current Prep school at 2 Walpole Road for 75+ boarders and staff
Demolish classrooms and build a new boarding house on the netball courts at 2 Walpole Road for another 75+ boarders and staff (precise numbers unspecified)
Build a large (1578 sqm) new Prep school on the open green sports field at St Mary’s Hall on Eastern Road, just down from the hospital
Put simply, in order to expand its business Brighton College wants to move the Prep school to the completely inappropriate St Mary’s site to enable it to accommodate over 150 new boarders "most of whom are likely to come from London but who could come from anywhere in the world, given how the College is so well regarded internationally."
We believe this is one more step in the take over of Kemptown by Brighton College. And it matters because this continuing expansion is against the public interest.
If the latest planning application is approved, it will:
have a negative impact on the supply of housing in the Kemptown area;
hollow out the neighbourhood as a community, including the inevitable closure of local state schools;
undermine the residential character of the area with a transient and intermittent pupil population;
increase unmanageable traffic, congestion and parking problems;
reduce open spaces and green urban areas;
create social division.
This application is currently due to be heard by the Planning Committee on Wednesday 2 July. Anyone can make representations on the application right up to that date. Email is the easiest way: Planning.Applications@brighton-hove.gov.uk
State the planning application reference number BH2025/00264
State whether you oppose or support this application then give your reason(s).
Give your name and address (details redacted online)
If you’ve already sent in an application, you can still send in additional comments.
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