This protest is in support of the campaign against the redevelopment of this site by the Sainsbury's led New England consortiumProtestors have occupied the space for the last two months using it for community arts, children's activities, and an information centre and for public consultation about the proposed development. The planned Sainsburys superstore complex includes an extra car park, 2 hotels, commuter housing, inadequate key-worker bedsit style accomodation and a language school. The majority of local residents are opposed to this type of development but this has been routinely ignored by both the Council and Sainsbury's who are still in negotiations about the development and are keeping discussions closed to any other more suitable options. This is unacceptable and has disregarded the need for legitimate public consultation. Reasons given for opposing the plan include: it's irrelence to local issues such as the need for affordable housing(to off-set Brighton's housing crisis), free community space plus urgently needed facilities for children and young people; it's damage to the local economy through prioritising outside corporate interests over local traders and producers; the environmental and health and safety impact of bringing more traffic into the already congested city centre; it's disregard of Brighton's unique character; it's threat to a wildlife corridor; it's threat to the thriving Sunday market as the current plans are to condense the existing station car park, where it's housed, into a multi storey arrangement; and the "development option", which gives exclusive rights on the land to Sainsbury's, makes a mockery of the democratic process as it excludes any other alternatives. The council, despite their reluctance, could buy the land, perhaps through a trust fund or by channeling some of the European funding made available to Brighton for urban renewal because of it's new city status. This would reopen urgently needed discusssions of alternative uses for the site such as Brighton ZED'S proposal inspired by their zero emission housing estate in Sutton. At the very least our elected representatives need to revisit the planning brief which is currently written around the agenda of just one developer and their plans fror this area despite the interest of other more imaginative groups. The outcome of this situation will, after all, change the face and character of Brighton forever.

this morning, a protestor has d-locked himself to the front door.

This is representative of the global struggle against corporatisation.