The seafront, the seafront

Found yesterday on the seafront: the seafront! This Brighton Fibre van livery - by Chloe Studios - is surely the funnest in the city, and an eye-catching advertisement for a company that says it is ‘Doing Things Differently’. Broadband shouldn’t be complicated, it states: ‘We got rid of everything that nobody needed - no call centres, no datacentres, no contracts. Just fast, fair, and sustainable fibre.’

Brighton Fibre can be considered as a grassroots success story. During the first Covid lockdown, Mark Mason, a local AV/IT professional - began sharing a leased-line connection and a rooftop radio link with neighbours struggling to work from home. He teamed up with Leo Brown, a lifelong telecoms enthusiast who had built networks as a child. Together, they launched the company as a stealth‑mode ISP: a self-funded, locally grown initiative focused on sustainability, technical ingenuity, and community-first broadband.

From the outset, Brighton Fibre distinguished itself by building its own full-fibre network using existing infrastructure - repurposing old ducts, telegraph poles and even 1930s Rediffusion radio-relay channels. The network was designed to be energy efficient and environmentally conscious: nodes are powered by renewable energy and run on single-board computers like Raspberry Pis, consuming less power than boiling a kettle. The company explains that it rejected venture capital, choosing instead to build strategic, community-led partnerships and reinvest revenue back into network development and service quality.

Their rollout began in underserved neighbourhoods such as North Laine, Gardner Street, Moulsecoomb and Bevendean, and from just a few experimental connections, the network expanded rapidly and by early 2024 was servicing over 30,000 premises. Their main network hub sits in the Brighton Digital Exchange at New England House, a cooperative, carrier-neutral data centre established in 2015. While some connections still rely on Openreach duct access, the long-term plan is to shift all links to Brighton Fibre’s own infrastructure.

The brilliant livery on Brighton Fibre’s vans was designed by local illustrator Chloe Batchelor of Chloe Studios. The final wrap was printed and applied by Brighton-based signwriter Mister Phil.

By way of a summary, I asked ChatGPT what makes Brighton Fibre different. ‘It’s more than just technology. It’s the combination of self-built, eco-conscious infrastructure; a deep-rooted local ethos; and an engineering-led culture that prioritises quality over scale. In a world of national monopolies and corporate ISPs, Brighton Fibre is quietly proving that an independent network - powered by recycled cables, renewable energy and community trust - can thrive on the edge of the sea.’

Yellow horned-poppy

Found on the beach: the yellow horned-poppy (Glaucium flavum), a distinctive coastal plant, easily recognised by its vivid yellow flowers and long, curved seed pods. Native to the shores of Europe, North Africa, and western Asia, it thrives in some of the most inhospitable environments nature provides. Found on shingle beaches, sand dunes, and windswept cliffs, it is adapted to survive where few other species can. Its blue-green, deeply lobed leaves are coated with a waxy layer that helps reduce moisture loss and protect against salt spray, allowing the plant to withstand intense sun, saline winds, and poor, shifting soils.

Flowering from June to September, the yellow horned-poppy produces four-petalled blooms that stand out brightly against its muted foliage. These are followed by the plant’s most unusual feature: long, slender seed pods that resemble horns and can reach up to 30 centimetres in length. When mature, these pods split open forcefully, scattering seeds across the surrounding ground - an effective strategy for colonising mobile shingle and sand.

First formally described in the 18th century, the plant’s Latin name reflects its characteristics: Glaucium refers to its glaucous, or bluish-green, leaves, while flavum simply means yellow. Though less celebrated than the red field poppy, the yellow horned-poppy has appeared in folklore and poetry, often associated with themes of resilience and solitude. In some coastal traditions, picking the plant was considered unlucky and thought to bring storms or bad fortune to sailors.

Despite being toxic in all parts, the plant has a long history of medicinal and practical use. It contains the alkaloid glaucine, responsible for the yellow latex it exudes when cut. This compound, while potentially harmful, has been used as a non-opioid cough suppressant and bronchodilator, particularly in Eastern Europe, where glaucine salts were once prescribed for respiratory conditions. In English folk medicine, the root was sometimes used in poultices to treat bruises and pains. Historically, oil pressed from its seeds served as an ingredient in soap-making and as lamp fuel, although these uses have declined in modern times.

The yellow horned-poppy remains almost entirely coastal in its distribution, rarely found inland except as a garden escape or in areas where ancient shorelines once lay. Its ability to tolerate drought, salt, and wind makes it valuable in stabilising loose beach sediments and supporting fragile coastal ecosystems. The plant’s yellow sap can stain skin and was occasionally used as a dye. Gardeners sometimes cultivate it for its unusual appearance and resilience, particularly in gravel or seaside-themed gardens. It is unpalatable to deer, largely pest-free, and its bright blooms are attractive to bees. However, due to its toxicity, it should be handled with care, especially in gardens frequented by children or pets. Further information is available from The Wildlife Trusts and Wikipedia.

It is worth noting that as part of the council’s Black Rock Rejuvenation Project, the yellow horned-poppy is among 1,000 young plants now settling into specially designed shingle beds at the eastern end of Brighton Beach. These yellow horned-poppies were propagated by horticulturalists at Kew’s renowned Millennium Seed Bank at Wakehurst, using cuttings collected from existing beach populations by the Black Rock Project Team in collaboration with Kew experts. After being carefully nurtured and grown from both cuttings and seed, the yellow horned-poppies have been replanted in innovative ‘wave’ design beds that help shield them from the challenging coastal environment. See also Vegetated shingle.

Rampion’s giant turbines

This month marks ten years since a major turning point in the UK’s green energy journey - and in the future of views out to sea from Brighton Beach. In May 2015, confirmation of a £1.3 billion investment unlocked the start of construction on what would become the Rampion Offshore Wind Farm - a pioneering renewable energy project off the Sussex coast. A decade later, Rampion has not only reshaped the region’s horizon but also played a key role in reshaping Britain’s energy future.

Back in 2015, the announcement by E.ON, with backing from the UK Green Investment Bank and Enbridge, signalled more than just a financial commitment. It was a bold vote of confidence in the potential of offshore wind, then still an emerging sector. Construction began in 2016; by spring 2018, the turbines were fully operational, delivering power to the National Grid.

Situated 13km off the Sussex coast, Rampion was the first offshore wind farm in the south of England. With 116 turbines generating up to 400 megawatts - enough to power around 350,000 homes - it demonstrated the viability of large-scale wind energy in the region. Its name, chosen by public vote, nods to the round-headed rampion, the county flower of Sussex.

Today, Rampion stands as a landmark project - visible most especially from Brighton Beach - and a vital contributor to the UK’s renewable energy mix. Looking ahead, the proposed Rampion 2 expansion aims to nearly triple the wind farm’s generating capacity. With an estimated cost of £2 billion, the project received government approval in April 2025 and is expected to begin construction in late 2026 or early 2027, aiming to be fully operational before 2030. The extension will add 90 turbines, each up to 325 meters tall - surpassing the height of the Eiffel Tower - and will provide clean electricity to over one million homes. (The photo below is from the Rampion website.)

The visual impact of Rampion has been a topic of discussion - see The Guardian. While some residents and visitors appreciate the turbines as symbols of progress and find them majestic, others express concerns about their prominence on the seascape. The developers have engaged in public consultations to address these concerns, including reducing the number of turbines and adjusting their placement to minimise visual intrusion. Meanwhile anyone wishing to get up close and personal to the turbine giants can take a tour with Brighton Diver - costing just £45 for a two-three hour boat ride.

Flight of the Langoustine

Walk along the Hove promenade and you can’t miss the large sculptural work - Flight of the Langoustine - by Pierre Diamantopoulo. It’s situated on the Hove Plinth, the second commissioned work to be displayed there after the plinth was launched by Hove Civic Society to ‘bring exciting new public art to the city and showcase a changing programme of the best in modern day sculpture’. The first sculpture Constellation by Jonathan Wright was installed on the plinth in 2018 but now has a permanent home in the Hove Museum gardens.

The Flight of the Langoustine sculpture features four life-size bronze figures captured mid-leap through a broken steel ring, apparently symbolising a collective surge toward freedom. It weighs 2.2 tonnes, stands approximately 3.5 meters high, and cost in the region of £135,000. Diamantopoulo has said the piece was inspired by a mangled lobster pot he discovered on Brighton Beach.

Diamantopoulo says of his work: ‘These androgynous and anonymous figures are often seen flying in defiance or fleeing, challenged by their environment - a metaphor for a precarious state of living or existence. Truly transcending the confines of the ground, the figures are at once profound, frivolous and boisterous, occupying the air like a flock of birds and inspired by modern dance choreography.’ Further details are available online in the Sponsor Pack, a substantial document put together by Hove Civic Society when it first launched its appeal to fund the sculpture, and in the Brighton Journal. 

Diamantopoulo was born in 1952 in Cairo to a Greek father and French mother. His family relocated to England during the 1956 Suez Crisis. Initially pursuing a career in advertising, he worked as a copywriter from 1974 to 1989, directing campaigns which earned him international accolades. In 1989, he transitioned to fine art, establishing his first sculpture studio in East Sussex. In 2000, he was elected as a Member of the Royal Society of Sculptors. Notable projects include Kandi Sky (2008), a 22m-wide painted steel sculpture at Middlesbrough College.

The Flight of the Langoustine was installed on the Hove Plinth for a set two-year period, ending this coming September. However, to date, there has been no official announcement regarding what will happen to the sculpture thereafter, nor what might replace it. The full story of the Hove Plinth with pictures can be viewed here.

Progress on the Madeira arches

With all 28 arches, more or less, dismantled, the Madeira Terraces restoration project (phase 1) remains on schedule to finish sometime in the middle of next year. However, Mike, a representative of the construction company J T Mackley & Co, speaking to a small public meeting in the Sea Lanes Club House this afternoon, insisted this timescale was only a target, and that if any of the integral pieces, once dismantled, are found to need replacing - as opposed to strengthening or repairing - this could delay the project significantly.

This project has been a long time in the coming (see Madeira Terrace restoration - hurrah!) but now that it is under way, progress is visible and tangible. It’s almost shocking to see the concrete sea wall - actually built decades before the cast iron terraces were ever planned - with all the turquoise painted cast iron terracing removed. Mike explained that everything has gone reasonably well so far, some aspects easier than expected, others more complex. The final arch (of the 28 being restored in this phase) he said, should be down next week. He also gave some insights into the complex restoration process.

Every piece is being tagged, he said according to a system agreed with English Heritage, before cleaning and stress testing etc. - to ensure the pieces fit back together in the right position. The company does have access to plans drawn for the original construction (in late Victorian times!), but Mike said rather wryly, those plans were never adjusted according to what the builders actually built - making them an unreliable guide.

To date, the major pieces cleaned and tested have proved robust enough to re-use; however, Mike warned, if any, still to be tested, show defects that cannot be repaired, then they will need to be replaced. This is a job that would be carried out by one of Mackley’s partner in this project, a foundry works in Derby (very few places could handle this work, Mike explained) - and could delay completion by months. Among other aspects of the project, Mike talked a little about the rebuilding of the Maderia Lift which, he said was in the design stage and was ‘going quite well’.

My daughter’s prayer mat

Found on the beach today: a cardboard packaging band labelled MY DAUGHTER’S PRAYER MAT. This type of band is typically used to wrap around a rolled-up prayer mat, serving both as branding and as a means of keeping the product neatly packaged for retail display or gifting. The colour scheme - pink with gold decorative motifs - suggests it is specifically marketed towards young girls, often as a gift to encourage them to participate in Islamic prayer. Such products are commonly sold in Islamic shops, online marketplaces, and gift stores, especially around religious holidays and celebrations.

Prayer mats designed for children frequently feature bright colours and engaging designs to make the practice of prayer more appealing and accessible. The MY DAUGHTER’S PRAYER MAT brand or product line is part of a growing market for faith-based educational products aimed at young Muslims. These mats may come with additional items such as digital counters or prayer beads, and are often presented in attractive packaging to make them suitable for gifting.

The provenance of this particular packaging band is most likely linked to a recent purchase or gifting event. It may have been brought to Brighton beach by a family or individual who had acquired the mat for a child, perhaps to facilitate prayer during a day out or as part of a celebratory outing. The band was likely removed from the mat either at the beach or en route, and subsequently left behind, either by accident or through careless disposal. This item can, in fact, be found for sale on the Little Thinker website (Abu Dhabi).

As someone who visits the beach very often - daily in the summer months - I can testify that, in general, the pebbles are kept remarkably clear and free of a litter. This is largely down to Brighton & Hove City Council, I believe, which - among other initiatives - supports beach clean-up efforts through partnerships with local community groups, environmental organisations, and corporate volunteer programs. Walking on a quiet part of the beach (east of the pier) this afternoon for 20 minutes or so, the MY DAUGHTER’S PRAYER MAT wrapper was almost the only item of litter I came across.

White swan, red fox and fat cat

What a feast of joy, laughter, music, colour and youth is Brighton Children’s Parade - held on the first Saturday of the city’s May festival. This year’s procession could not have enjoyed better weather, and after parading through town, thousands and thousands of schoolchildren, teachers, parents and friends concluded by parading  down Madeira Drive, along a resplendent Brighton Beach.

The Brighton Festival Children’s Parade was first held in 1985 having been conceived as a way to open the Brighton Festival, which itself dates back to 1967. The Festival aimed to promote arts and culture across the city, and the Children’s Parade was introduced to reflect these values in a joyful, community-centric way, engaging young people in the creative arts. The inaugural parade involved only a handful of local schools. Over the years, it has grown significantly and today included large groups mostly from around 60 schools (and institutions) across Brighton & Hove and nearby areas.

The Parade is produced by Same Sky, a Brighton-based community arts charity dedicated to creating inclusive public art and large-scale outdoor celebrations. Its members work closely with schools and teachers, providing guidance, artistic support, and materials for the construction of costumes, banners, and large puppets used in the parade.

The Children’s Parade theme this year was chosen by musician Anoushka Shankar (who also led the procession) under the New Dawn banner of the overall festival.
- Things we want to Change: What can get better, what do we want to bring into the world?
- Things we want to Cherish: What do we want to keep, and remind people is vital to us?
- Things we want to Chuck: What should we stop doing to make a better world?

Local press reports and photographs can be found in The Argus and Brighton and Hove News. 

Dusty miller - friend or foe?

Found on Brighton Beach: silver ragwort (Jacobaea maritima), sometimes known as Dusty Miller, but is it friend or foe? This is a bushy, evergreen subshrub (a type of plant that combines features of both herbaceous and woody plants) recognised for its striking silvery-white foliage. The leaves are finely divided, deeply lobed, and covered with dense, felt-like, woolly hairs, which give the plant its characteristic silvery or grey-white appearance. The shrub is remarkably tolerant of salt spray, strong winds, and poor soils, making it well adapted for shingle beach environments.

Typically grown as an annual or biennial, Jacobaea maritima can sometimes behave as a short-lived perennial in milder climates. It begins from seed, germinating in well-drained soil, and quickly establishes its signature silvery foliage. In its first year, the plant focuses on vegetative growth, creating a dense, bushy form. The following year, it sends up tall flower stalks adorned with bright yellow, daisy-like flowers, blooming from summer to autumn. After flowering, it produces seeds, completing its life cycle.

The distinctive white, felt-like, tomentose (densely hairy) leaves give the plant a silvery, dusty appearance, evoking an image of a person covered in dust - hence the name ‘Dusty Miller’. Historically, it has been used in traditional medicine for its anti-inflammatory properties, though modern use is limited.

On Brighton Beach, silver ragwort thrives along the vegetated shingle habitat - a rare and internationally important ecosystem composed of pebbles and stones with pockets of sand and soil. It is often found alongside other hardy coastal species such as sea kale, yellow horned-poppy, and sea thrift, all of which are similarly adapted to the harsh, nutrient-poor conditions of shingle beaches. 

The Brighton & Hove Local Biodiversity Action Plan, adopted in 2012, briefly mentions silver ragwort as a ’non-native plant species of concern along the Volks Railway’, where ‘garden escapes now form a significant component of the flora’. And while there have also been concerns that in some areas, around the Black Rock site and along the Volks Railway, for example, about it being invasive, it is also recognised that silver ragwort can help stabilise shingle and offer ground cover.

It is worth noting that in the early 2000s, the species was reclassified from Senecio cineraria to Jacobaea maritima because of advancements in molecular phylogenetics and a better understanding of the plant’s genetic relationships.

More shingle and better groynes

Brighton & Hove City Council is set to launch the next stage in an extensive sea defence initiative aiming to bolster the city’s resilience against coastal erosion and flooding. The forthcoming phase of the Brighton Marina to River Adur Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management (FCERM) scheme will focus on fortifying the coastline from Kings Esplanade in Hove to Southwick Beach.​

Scheduled to commence in late September 2025, the project encompasses the construction of new timber groynes, the extension of the beach between the King Alfred Leisure Centre and Second Avenue, and the reconstruction of sea defences at Southwick Beach. These efforts, the council says, are designed to safeguard homes, businesses, and vital infrastructure, including the A259 coast road and Shoreham Port, from the increasing threats posed by climate change-induced sea-level rise and intensified storm activity.​

The council’s cabinet is due to meet tomorrow to approve an increase in funding for this phase, raising the capital contribution from £6.5 million to £11 million. This significant increase is necessary, the council says, because of inflationary pressures over the past five years and the need for additional shingle replenishment to stabilise beach bays. In a press statement, Councillor Trevor Muten emphasised the project’s significance, stating: ‘This scheme is vital for the city, to safeguard homes and businesses from coastal flooding and protect our local economy for decades to come.’

The initiative is a collaborative effort involving Brighton & Hove City Council, Adur & Worthing Councils, Shoreham Port Authority, and the Environment Agency. Each partner is responsible for financing and executing works within their respective jurisdictions, ensuring a unified approach to coastal defence across the vulnerable shoreline.​ Phase 1 of the FCERM scheme was completed in early 2024, delivered detailed designs, planning, licensing, and initial construction works near Hove Lagoon and Southwick Beach. With Phase 2, the focus shifts to constructing new groynes and replenishing shingle at Kings Esplanade, as well as rebuilding depleted sea defences at Southwick Beach.​

The construction timeline has been planned to minimise disruption, with works along Kings Esplanade slated from late September 2025 to May 2026, avoiding the peak summer season. Efforts will be made to ensure that seafront businesses remain operational during this period. Subsequent works at Southwick Beach are scheduled to begin in 2026, with completion anticipated by April 2027.​

The 24 April council meeting can be followed via a livestream, and an agenda is available here. The (rather dated) image above is from Googlemaps.

Guest: Brighton Beach, Possession Bay, South Georgia

Brighton Beach, the fourth of this column’s guest beaches, is an outlier in every sense. It is situated along the north coast of South Georgia, a remote island in the southern Atlantic Ocean some 900 miles east of the Falkland Islands. Discovered by Europeans in 1675, the island had no indigenous population due to its harsh climate and remoteness. Captain James Cook in HMS Resolution made the first landing, survey and mapping of the island, and on 17 January 1775, he claimed it as a British possession, naming it Isle of Georgia after King George III.

Throughout its history, South Georgia has served as a whaling and seal hunting base, with intermittent population scattered in several whaling bases, the most important historically being Grytviken. The main settlement and the capital today is King Edward Point near Grytviken, a British Antarctic Survey research station, with a population of about 20 people.

However, I doubt they head to Brighton Beach at the weekend! This lies between Zero and Adventure Points in Possession Bay, on the north coast of South Georgia. The name first appeared on a chart showing the results of a survey by Discovery Investigations personnel in 1926-30 - the Discovery Investigations were a series of scientific cruises and shore-based investigations into the biology of whales in the Southern Ocean, funded by the British Colonial Office and organised by the Discovery Committee in London.

South Georgia is renowned for its rugged landscapes and abundant wildlife, including vast colonies of penguins and seals, making it a significant location for ecological studies and wildlife observation. Indeed, Brighton Beach was so named to reflect the abundance of fauna, as also found on our own Brighton Beach (when the sun shines!). Access to Brighton Beach and other areas on the island is regulated to preserve its delicate environment: the Government of South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands has designated specific visitor sites (with some locations closed due to environmental concerns). ​The outline map here shows the government’s designated visitor points, each one with a code number. The code for Brighton Beach (POS01) can be found in the partial data box, and with that it’s possible to identify where the beach is located on Google’s satellite map - should you wish to visit.

Bark Europa, a tall ship adventure vessel out of Holland, has visited Brighton Beach at least twice. The expedition leader Jordi Plana Morales wrote an entry in his logbook for 4 March 2019 with this title: Possession Bay - Prince Olav Harbour and holding anchor on a blustery afternoon at Brighton Beach. His record of the trip is detailed (and is illustrated with a photograph, as above). Here’s an extract from the log.

‘Winds varying from 20 to 45 kn and snowfall made for a quiet few hours indoors, while the Europa hold her ground at anchor in front of the so-called Brighton beach. To arrive here we had to sail over a shallow reef that crosses the whole bay, that nevertheless helps dumping down the swell that enters Possession Bay. From time to time a clear area between the low clouds let us have a glimpse of the beach and the surrounding glaciers.’

Ye olde Victorian lampposts

Brighton & Hove Council has recently launched its project to restore five Grade II listed lampposts of different styles and condition. Although the initial pilot project is small, just five columns, the £4m scheme should see 80 restored in time - returning ‘our seafront lighting to its former glory’. The most prominent examples are the 66 identical lampposts installed along the seafront in 1893, stretching both east and west from the Palace Pier. These cast iron structures feature elaborate decorations, including foliage, acanthus, and ribbed mouldings. The wide, basket-shaped capitals support twin lamps suspended from ornate brackets. While originally gas-powered, they were later converted to electricity. 

The new project  - with the participation of Historic England - focuses on careful refurbishment and, where necessary, replication of damaged or missing parts, ensuring the 80 lampposts maintain their historical accuracy. The meticulous process, the Council says, involves expert metalwork and craftsmanship to preserve the original character of the iconic structures. The restoration aims to enhance the aesthetic appeal of the seafront and historic areas while ensuring the lampposts continue to provide effective and energy-efficient lighting.

The project is expected to take several years to complete and will cost in the region of £4m. Some of the funds are being covered by the council’s Carbon Neutral Fund, but the council is also taking advantage of capital funding and money remaining from a project to install LED lights in the city’s street lighting.

The council has provided more detail on the work. Each column, it says, has been individually logged so that, once restoration is complete, they’ll be placed back in their original location. A company called Cast Iron Welding Services will transport the columns to its foundry restoration facility, There, it will remove many layers of lead-based paint, disassemble/inspect the columns, repair any fractures and apply a new exterior coating/paint to protect the columns. New energy efficient LED lamps will be made for each column by CU Phosco.

Tom Foxall, Regional Director at Historic England, said: ‘The historic lampposts along the seafront, with their decorative twin pendant lantern lights, are an iconic feature of the promenade and a reminder of Brighton & Hove’s heyday as a Victorian seaside resort. However, many are in poor condition due to corrosion from the sea air. We have worked in partnership with a specialist metal conservator and Brighton & Hove City Council to identify the best way to restore the lamps, preserving as much of the original materials as possible. I’m delighted that the pilot project to restore five columns of different styles and condition is now underway, which will inform how the rest of the columns will be restored. It’s vital that we protect and appreciate our seaside heritage.’

Meanwhile, a description and list of the city’s old lampposts can be found on its Heritage Assets web pages. There are, apparently, over 5,000 cast iron street lights in the city, with most of them (not the elaborate seafront columns) falling into one of nine types - as in the council’s photo montage below.

Vegetated shingle

In recent years, much progress has been made with the Black Rock Rejuvenation project but, specifically, I am curious to know how the council is progressing its plans ‘to increase the amount of vegetated shingle at the eastern seafront’. My photographs show the allocated areas fenced off from public access earmarked to allow new growth. Although there are signs of green growth, it doesn’t appear that the planned biodiversity improvements are yet thriving.

It is now nearly five years since Brighton Council’s Black Rock project was given planning approval. Achievements since then include junction upgrades at Duke’s Mound to improve pedestrian and cycle safety; upgraded crossing points and improved existing crossing points on Volk’s Railway; refurbishment and opening of the Reading Room (see ‘Fantastic new refectory’; and a new 3-metre wide boardwalk running from the existing Volk’s Workshop in the west to the Volk’s Station at Black Rock.

Council exhibition boards to be found on display in the area give plenty of information about the various aspects of the project. One, in particular, is titled ‘Black Rock Rejuvenation - Improving biodiversity’. This states:

‘The Black Rock rejuvenation will deliver significant environmental and ecological improvements, making the eastern seafront a more sustainable, accessible, and attractive place to visit. It will include the creation of an ecology trail along with removing invasive non-native species from the Kemp Town Slopes and reintroducing native plants, wildflowers, and chalk grassland. It will also seek to increase the amount of vegetated shingle at the eastern seafront. Some of it will have to be relocated to facilitate the realignment of the sea wall. However, with the additional area to be replanted and seeded there will be a net gain in biodiversity through the provision of 1.5 hectares of vegetative shingle alongside the new beach boardwalk.’ The board also shows some examples of ‘native species that are likely to form part of the reseeding and replanting’ in the first phase (see below). 

Patches of green growth can be seen in the cordoned off areas of shingle, as in the photographs above, but a lot of the growth seems to be more weed-like than a biodiverse selection of shingle flora. Time, hopefully, will allow the kales, poppies, rockroses and buck-thorns to spread and flower.

#BrightonBeach365 #BrightonBeach #Brighton #BrightonLife #VisitBrighton #BrightonUK #BrightonAndHove #brightonpier #Blackrock

Million Mile Clean

Surfers Against Sewage (SAS), now in its 25th year, was in action again today, in Hove, as part of its continuing efforts towards the Million Mile Clean. SAS was founded in 1990 by a group of Cornish surfers concerned about chronic and widespread sewage pollution of the UK coastline. The campaign’s success was helped by key pieces of EU legislation at the time, including the Bathing Water Directive.

Since then SAS has grown into a leading environmental charity, addressing diverse marine conservation issues such as plastic pollution, climate change, and sustainable surfing innovation. Acknowledgement of its growth in importance came in 2020 when Prince Charles became a patron, a role he has maintained since becoming King.

In 2021, SAS came up with the idea of rallying 100,000 volunteers to each clean 10 miles of blue, green or city space a year. Launched in response to the Covid pandemic, the Million Mile Clean subsequently reported it was Europe’s biggest beach clean campaign: 142,428 volunteers in the clean-up efforts; 4,216 beach, river, street, and mountain clean-ups; and 398,179 kg of plastic and packaging pollution cleared across over 1.1 million miles of coast and countryside.

The Million Mile Clean is set to run annually until 2030 (aligning with the UN Decade for Ocean Science), and SAS are continuing to call for people across the UK to join the campaign and commit to cleaning up their local beach or neighbourhood. Details can be found here, and if you want to know whether you can clean by yourself (‘absolutely’), or what to do with the rubbish you’ve collected (recycle if possible), try the FAQs.

It was bitterly cold on the sea front this morning, yet around 30 people turned up, congregating at the Peace Statue, before taking their Surfers Against Sewage waste bags down on to the pebbles.

Tales of a Victorian sewer outlet

Brighton’s Victorian sewer system, constructed in the late 19th century (more or less 150 years ago), was a remarkable feat of engineering, one that revolutionised waste management in the town. The project, designed by Sir John Hawkshaw in collaboration with Sir Joseph Bazalgette, involved building a seven mile long, brick-lined sewer to transport sewage along the coast four miles beyond the borough boundary, to Telscombe Cliffs. This extensive network, spanning approximately 48 kilometers, was hand-dug by Victorian bricklayers using pickaxes, wheelbarrows, and steam-driven cranes.

Several outfalls like this one beneath the Palace Pier Groyne were integrated into the city’s coastal structures. The groyne  was originally built in 1876 and called Aquarium Promenade Groyne (before being enlarged and named Albion Groyne). Originally designed to discharge stormwater, these outlets also carried raw sewage during heavy rains. The practice persisted, it seems, until the 1990s, when the sewage infrastructure underwent significant modernisation, one involving the construction of a huge storm tunnel, measuring five kilometers in length and six meters in width. Where once the overflow outfall discharged directly into the sea alongside Palace Pier, thereafter water dropped down a 100 foot shaft into the new storage tunnel. 

Even more recently, a £300 million wastewater treatment plant was built in Peacehaven, which now treats all of Brighton’s sewage to near river-water quality.

Subterranea Britannica (or Sub Brit) has a good history of the Brighton sewers inclusive of a first hand report of ‘a gentle stroll round the town sewers’. Much of the Victorian engineering - which of course is mostly underground - can be witnessed on these walking tours, as offered by Southern Water (though currently there is no information about them on their website). You can virtually accompany ex Green MP Caroline Lucas on one tour thanks to YouTube.

Intriguing hints of the city’s industrial archaeological heritage can be spotted above ground - such as this one under the Palace Pier Groyne. Don’t you think it has a kind of industrial beauty with its combination of rusted iron grid, hints of smooth spirals in the tunnel, and textures of rough, weathered concrete?

Joe Stoner on the MyBrighton&Hove website has shared this impish anecdote about about his father and the outlet: ‘In the early 20th Century my father and his mates used to get the tourist, on the pier, to throw coins to them as they swam which they dived down to retrieve. They dived down and used to hide in its large exit hole by the Palace Pier until the tourists thought that they’d drowned and were SO relieved that they weren’t dead they threw bigger denominations of coins!’

And then Stoner also remembers himself in the early 1960s with friends kayaking past the groyne. ‘I used to wonder,’ he says, ‘WHY there were so many durex in the sea there when ALL Brighton’s sewage was pumped under the Under Cliff Walk to Telscome Cliffs where it went out to sea. NOW I know that as an overflow it was cheaper to “let it flow” into the sea where we kayaked and swam! Some things never change, eh?’