Weapons factory application rejected by council

All nine councillors on the planning committee voted to reject an application which sought to allow L3 Harris to permanently keep the extension (pictured) at its Brighton factory

A weapons manufacturer has been told it cannot permanently keep a temporary extension at its factory in Brighton.

L3 Harris was granted permission in 2018 for the extension at its site in Home Farm Business Park for five years.

On Wednesday, Brighton & Hove City Council’s planning committee voted unanimously to reject an application by L3 Harris to make the permission permanent.

Councillors said the benefits of granting the application would be outweighed by its “impact on community cohesion”.

Protesters claim bomb release mechanisms made at the Brighton factory are being used by Israeli forces

The members of the planning committee said went on to say that permanent permission could cause discrimination, harassment, and victimisation between people of different races or religions.

The application by L3 Harris received 603 letters of objection, including a petition signed by 130 people, and one letter of support.

L3 Harris says it makes advanced defence and commercial technologies across air, sea, land, space and cyber domains. The company says it is the world’s largest manufacturer of precision weapons.

The Workers for a Free Palestine group (WFP) staged a protest at the site in December, accusing the factory of manufacturing components used by Israeli forces.

L3 Harris has not responded to requests for comment and did not send a representative to the planning meeting, but previously said that removing the extension could cost jobs.