Council serves first legal notices on its eight large panel tower blocks

Brighton & Hove City Council^1,2,3 is issuing Initial Demolition Notices this month to secure tenants in its eight large panel system (LPS) tower blocks. The council said the notices are a legal step and don’t mean the buildings will be demolished soon.

The blocks are Falcon Court, Heron Court, Kestrel Court, Kingfisher Court and Swallow Court in north Whitehawk, Dudeney Lodge and Nettleton Court in Hollingdean, and St James’s House in Kemp Town.

Structural surveys found that the buildings no longer meet current safety standards for withstanding a collapse in an explosion or large fire. The council says there is no immediate danger and extra safety measures are in place. Strengthening the blocks was ruled out because it would only guarantee their safety for a further 20 years and needed heavy investment. At its meeting on 19 March 2026, the council’s Cabinet agreed to go ahead with redeveloping all eight. The council plans to replace them with new energy efficient homes.

Each notice can last up to seven years. While it stands, Right to Buy applications and mutual exchanges are suspended. Once redevelopment plans are final, a second notice, the Final Demolition Notice, will set the timeline for demolition.

Nobody has to move now, and rent and service charges carry on as normal. Secure tenants keep their secure tenancies when they move. Anyone who wants to move now can apply to the housing register and gets at least priority B banding. Secure tenants will also get two offers of suitable accommodation and, wherever possible, a like-for-like offer in security of tenancy, rent and size. A dedicated LPS Rehousing Team handles enquiries and Home Loss and Disturbance Payments. Rehousing will be phased building by building, starting with St James’s House, followed by Nettleton Court and Dudeney Lodge, and then the north Whitehawk buildings. The council expects it to take at least two years per block. Leaseholders have a separate offer through the council’s Home Purchase Team.

Councillor Gill Williams, Cabinet Member for Housing, said: “We do appreciate this is an unsettling situation for residents of the buildings.”

“Redevelopment is a lengthy process and it’ll take us some time to get to that stage,” she said in a statement. “We will continue to support people through the process, including finding them suitable housing in alternative homes.”