Coldean has voted 374 to 43 for its neighbourhood plan, which now counts in planning decisions. New HMO tests, eight protected green spaces and the next steps.
Coldean residents have voted to adopt their neighbourhood plan. In Thursday’s referendum 374 people voted yes and 43 voted no, according to the council’s result page. That is about 90% in favour.
Turnout was 18.89%. One ballot paper was rejected.
Coldean sits on the city’s north-eastern edge, beside the A27 and next to Stanmer Park. Part of it lies inside the South Downs National Park.
What voters were asked
The question on the ballot was set out in the council’s information statement:
“Do you want Brighton & Hove City Council and the South Downs National Park Authority to use the neighbourhood plan for Coldean to help it decide planning applications in the neighbourhood area?”
The same statement put the number of people entitled to vote at 2,235.
What the plan does
The plan was written by the Coldean Neighbourhood Planning Forum and runs to 2030. The referendum version sets out 16 policies. The ones residents are most likely to notice are these.
- Houses in multiple occupation (Policy H1). Converting or extending a building into an HMO will only be permitted if it passes five tests. It must not harm the building’s look, must not have an unacceptable impact on neighbours such as noise, and must provide amenity space, bin storage and cycle parking. It must also cause no unacceptable highway problems and include car parking.
- Eight Local Green Spaces (Policy LGS1). These get the same protection from development as Green Belt land. They are The Park, Coldean Woods Open Space, The Roundway, two stretches of the Coldean Lane South verge, Haig Avenue Open Space, Wolseley Road Open Space and Play Area, and the Beatty Avenue Shopping Parade.
- Six Local Community Spaces (Policy LCS1). These include The Charltons Allotment Gardens and three open spaces around Reeves Hill. Development should protect them “as far as possible”.
- Allotments (Policy E3). Proposals that would lose or harm an allotment will not normally be allowed. The exception is when a replacement of at least the same size and quality is provided, and it must be working before the old plots go.
The plan also covers designing out crime, car and cycle parking, accessibility, a design guide, views to the South Downs, and biodiversity.
Why HMOs are at the centre of it
The plan says HMOs “ranked the highest amongst residents’ concerns” at the forum’s first meetings in November 2022. It counts 94 HMOs in Coldean, about 7% of dwellings once the Varley Park student accommodation is left out. It gives Varley Park 764 bedrooms.
On the forum’s own estimate from the 2021 Census, students make up more than 44% of Coldean’s population. The plan says the numbers of HMOs have fallen from 98 to 94, “a downward trend we encourage”.
What happens next
The plan already counts. Under section 38(3A) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004, a neighbourhood plan approved at referendum becomes part of the development plan straight away. That means planning officers must weigh it when they decide applications in Coldean from now on.
The council and the South Downs National Park Authority must then formally “make” the plan. The regulations give them eight weeks from the day after the vote. On our count that deadline is Thursday 19 November 2026, unless the referendum is challenged in court.
What it means for you
If you live in Coldean and a neighbour applies to turn a family house into a shared house, the council now has to judge it against the plan’s HMO tests as well as the city-wide rules. The eight green spaces listed above are much harder to build on than they were last week.
You can comment on any application in Coldean through the council’s planning register. Our planning applications page explains how to search it and how to object.
Have your say