Construction Voice lunch: Jess Gibbons, CEO at Brighton & Hove City Council

A very timely Construction Voice event took place at Hotel Du Vin on the day our new Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, announced her promise to "get Britain building again" by reintroducing compulsory house building targets. Our regular chair, Ed Allison-Wright, assured us that the timing was a complete coincidence, but it certainly gave us plenty to discuss.

Supported by event partners MGAC, Haydon Consulting, Graves Jenkins, Hampson Architects, Lewis & Co Planning, and Base One, this quarterly event is celebrating its tenth anniversary and has become a must-attend for everyone in the industry across Sussex.

Unsurprisingly, the popular event was sold out, and the room at Hotel du Vin was filled with the who’s who of local property and construction. Attendees were eager to meet and hear from the brand-new Chief Executive of Brighton & Hove City Council, Jess Gibbons, just three months into her role.

Craig Silver of Close Brothers Finance, often referred to as our "banker" at these events, commented on the tough recent years in the sector. He noted the new Government's positive noises about changes to housebuilding targets and planning reform. However, he reminded us that 20 years ago, The Barker Review of Housing Supply made similar promises, yet little has changed. Housebuilding targets haven’t been met, and the planning system has deteriorated. Time will tell if our newly elected Government can finally turn the tide on this persistent disappointment.

The big question remains: how will Labour achieve its projected 1.5 million homes within its parliament, and what will "grey belt" development mean in practice for cities like Brighton, constrained by the sea and the downs?

We were here to meet Jess, who began by sharing her background. With experiences in Bromley, Camden, Wiltshire and BCP Councils (Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole) and stints in the private sector and voluntary sector, she brings a wealth of knowledge to our city. Jess, a newcomer to Brighton, has already met with various businesses and developers, openly admitting she has a lot to learn. Her past roles include Head of Place Shaping and Director of Community Services at Camden Council, working on the local plan, St Pancras and Kings Cross development and HS2. Jess champions a "resident first" approach and values good community engagement.

In her first three months, Jess has joined a Labour-led administration focused on making "a better Brighton and Hove for all." She aims to clean up the city and create a place we can all be proud of. Jess also wants Brighton & Hove to be a fair and inclusive city that families can afford to live in, addressing the housing crisis by building more affordable homes for key workers, increasing social housing, lobbying central Government to change rules like right to buy, ensuring quality in the private rental sector, and creating places for people to live, work, and visit.

After 20 years of no overall control at Brighton & Hove City Council, Jess sees this as an exciting time for our city. With strong leadership aligning with the new Government, there’s a real opportunity to make impactful decisions.

Jess likened her role to coaching an Olympic team, building a strong partnership focused on the same goal. The Construction Voice team and attendees have long called for increased funding for planning resources, so it was welcome news that the new Chancellor promised to recruit new planning officers. Locally, Jess wants to invest in Brighton & Hove’s design and city planning teams to boost confidence in the construction sector.

When asked, Jess expressed excitement about working by the seaside in a city with the potential to address ingrained social issues and shift the housing crisis. She believes Brighton & Hove has a unique opportunity, with aligned values and a collective desire to improve the city.

Jess also addressed streamlining the planning process, looking at technology and AI to automate simpler applications and free up officers for more complex developments. Max Woodford, Assistant Director, City Development & Regeneration at Brighton & Hove City Council, added that mechanising the planning process, particularly at the validation stage, is a priority.

Jess’s parting message was a call for partnership and collaboration. "We’re in this together," she stated, emphasising the council’s openness to collaboration.

With a fresh Labour government and a local council under Labour control, along with a new Chief Executive full of excitement and a fresh perspective, can we hope for a bright future? A city where families can afford to live, a shorter social housing list, and a thriving property and construction sector working in harmony with the council? Let’s hope. Let’s work together to make that hope a reality.

Our next Construction Voice in the autumn will focus on heritage - watch this space for news. It might be too soon by then to see any real change, but it will be interesting to take stock of what’s happened locally and nationally.

With thanks to Flo Powell, Joint Managing Director at Midnight Communications, for writing about the events and key takeaways. Find out more about Midnight on their website.

Construction Voice brings together our city's leading figures from the construction and property sector - creating a space for architects and developers; surveyors and builders; politicians and planning officers to have a say on the topics that are important to our city. Construction Voice is run by Brighton Chamber with event partners MGAC, Haydon Consulting, Graves Jenkins, Hampson Architects, Lewis & Co Planning and Base One. 

With thanks to our sponsor, Close Brothers. 

If you want to contribute to the Chamber blog, contact us on hannah@brightonchamber.co.uk