Conran & Partners working on site where AHMM was rebuffed by planners

Developer First Base has submitted plans for its first scheme outside its London stronghold with a project by Conran & Partners to redevelop an empty office block in Brighton.

A previous scheme for the Anston House site by Urban Splash with AHMM was turned down back in 2013 after locals said that plan – which included buildings up to 15 storeys tall – would overshadow the nearby Preston Park.

First Base bought the site last year and has now come up with plans for 229 apartments along with space for start-ups.

Anston House, which has been dubbed the ugliest building in Sussex, has been empty for 25 years and First Base’s plans involve demolishing the 13-storey building and replacing it with a number of smaller blocks.

Fletcher Priest is masterplanner for the wider Preston Park area.