The Royal Alexandra Hospital for Sick Children originally stood on Dyke Road. Brighton architect Thomas Lainson's red-brick and terracotta building, in the Queen Anne style, was opened by the Prince and Princess of Wales in 1881. It remained in use for more than a century before being replaced by a new building at the main Royal Sussex County Hospital site. The new facility opened in June 2007, and has won architectural awards for its innovative design.
The future of the Dyke Road site has been uncertain since the move to the new premises was first considered in 2001; Lainson's buildings and their later additions were threatened with demolition until 2009, when a developer was refused planning permission to replace the hospital with flats. Brighton & Hove City Council's latest planning briefs state that any redevelopment of the site should incorporate Lainson's original building.
Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey paid £10 million for the site in December 2006, and planned to build a mixture of houses and flats (including some affordable housing). They submitted a planning application for a 149-unit development incorporating a doctor's surgery, but Brighton & Hove City Council refused planning permission in December 2008 and again (on appeal) in June 2009. The planning officer who made the decision stated that the proposed development was too large in scale for the site, affected nearby open space and appeared "bulky [and] overbearing".[4] The majority of local residents wanted the old buildings to be retained, according to a locally produced survey earlier in 2006, and a residents' association applied to English Heritage for the granting of listed status, which would have given protection against demolition and significant alteration. This was not granted, because Lainson's original building had been altered so much that its original architectural character had been lost, but its situation within the Montpelier and Clifton Hill conservation area still gave some protection.
In March 2010, the council published a planning statement which required the main building (Lainson's original) to be retained as part of any future redevelopment of the site. Later buildings, such as the former nurses' accommodation, were not covered by this.
