Sand between their toes

Beach sports company Yellowave has been given permission by the council to turn an old toilet block - but once an Art Deco bowling club house - into a cafe and office on Hove seafront. The project forms part of the 15 million seafront revamp to create Hove Beach Park - see Not the Mary Clarke Park. 

Yellowave - which has successfully operated a beach sports facility in Kemp Town for nearly 20 years - was awarded the lease for a second sand sports centre in the city, at Hove Beach Park, last October (see council press release). The new centre will include three sand courts for beach volleyball, beach tennis and footvolley, alongside a multi-use area which can be used for 5-a-side beach soccer, life saving training and fitness. It hopes, it says, that by 1 August 2025, ‘the first players should be enjoying sand between their toes’.

According to Brighton and Hove City Council’s planning report on the project, it received 111 representations in favour, and 91 against. Some residents expressed concerns about the privatisation and commercialisation of public space as well as the effect on the Sackville Gardens Conservation Area. However, according to the Brighton & Hove News, councillor Julie Catell explained: ‘Where a development proposal would lead to less than substantial harm to the significance of a designated heritage site, this should be weighed against the public benefit including, where appropriate, the optimal environmental use. The heritage officer is of the view that this is the case here and welcomed elements such as the active use and repair and restorative works to the former public toilets, the fountain and the upgrading of an under-used site.’

Councillors asked why a private company would be managing the site. The council’s seafront manager Toni Manuel said that the council had indeed looked into running it in-house and using a leisure company. She explained: ‘Somebody who’s operating a padel court may not necessarily be an expert in delivery of sand sports and vice versa. After much deliberation, we decided upon the single independent operator model.’ It is worth noting that, earlier this year, local residents tried, unsuccessfully, to object to the council allowing the bowling club - recently relocated to the new sports hub nearby - a so-called club premises certificate (see Rock ‘n’ roll at the bowls club). 

With regard, specifically,  to conversion of the toilet block into a cafe, the council’s planning report had this to say: ‘The locally listed Public WC Art Deco building (former Kingsway Bowls Club Pavilion) is an important set-piece of Western Lawns seafront, and whilst it has a general form common in the local area with a rectangular footprint interspersed with lines of beach huts and the locally listed decorative wall, it has a unique façade appearance.’

Brighton half marathon at 35!

Congratulations Seyfu Jamaal - an Ethiopian-born athlete - who won this morning’s Brighton half marathon in a record course time of 64:30 - see BBC Sussex. Congratulations also to Christa Cain who won the women’s race and John Hinkinbottom who won the wheelchair race. The 10,000 strong event, organised by the local charity Sussex Beacon, has grown significantly since its inception in 1990, and is known for its attractive flat seafront course. This photo of Jamal was taken shortly after the start of the race, when he was already flying in the lead.

Born in 2000, Jamaal fled political unrest in Ethiopia and arrived in the UK in 2018 as a victim of human trafficking. On settling in London, he joined the Heathside running club, where he consistently delivered outstanding performances. In 2019, he was ranked number one in the UK for under-20s in both the 10,000 meters and the half marathon. However, his asylum application was rejected by the Home Office, and he faced deportation. Thanks to his contributions to the community and athletic potential, he won an appeal to remain in the UK. His time this morning was just a minute shy of his half marathon best.

A first such half marathon event in Brighton was initially organised by a small group of individuals, and the funds raised from the inaugural race in 1990 helped build The Sussex Beacon, a local HIV care charity. Starting with only a few hundred runners, and now in its 35th year, the event has become one of the largest half marathons in the country. The previous men’s course record was 1:04:56, set by Paul Navesey in 2019; and the women's course record is 1:14:27, set by Eleanor Davis in 2017. Over past years, the Kiwi Paul Martelletti stands out as a four-time consecutive winner of the men’s race. 

It’s worthing noting that, in 2012, the race had to be re-measured after organisers realised the course was 146 meters too short. Thousands of runners who thought they had set personal bests actually hadn’t completed a full half marathon distance.

A bit of pizzazz

‘We want to bring a bit of pizzazz to the seafront. It is the city’s shopfront and councillors want it to fully express the ambition they have for an inclusive and fun place for all.’ This is the Rt Hon Lord Bassam of Brighton - once a Brighton squatter - explaining why he is seeking volunteers to join an independent Seafront Development Board to help shape a vision and encourage investment in ‘our treasured seafront’. Bassam, a previous leader of the council and a member of the House of Lords, was appointed chair of the new board just four weeks ago.

The council says it is looking for board members with a range of skills and experience including: expertise in business, tourism or culture; an interest in the seafront (for example owning a key asset); expertise in urban design or another relevant specialism; and/or being able to represent a particular interest or group. Volunteers will be expected to commit for one year at least, and attend four meetings as well as site visits and openings. 

Lord Bassam is well placed to bring a high level of expertise to his new role. Although never having been elected an MP, he was created a life peer and then served in many different government roles, including Chief Whip in Gordon Brown’s government (from 2008), and Opposition Chief Whip (from 2010). He resigned in 2018 after an expenses scandal (in which he was ultimately judged to have been negligent rather than dishonest). Soon after, he was appointed chair of a parliamentary select committee on the Regeneration of Seaside Towns. After an initial report in 2019, and a government response, there was a follow-up review and a government policy paper.

Bassam has an interesting background. He grew up on a council estate in Great Bentley, Essex, and studied at the University of Sussex (and the University of Kent, earning a Master’s degree in social work). He was a far-left anarchist and squatter in Brighton, co-founding the Brighton and Hove Squatters Union which advocated rights to occupy unused properties. In January 1976, according to Wikipedia, Bassam led opposition to the eviction of a family from a house on West Hill Road, stating, ‘We will gladly vacate the premises if we are assured that the family at the top of the housing list is given the house to live in.’

See Tony Greenstein’s blog for a flashback to Bassam’s early political days in Brighton (inc. the photos here)!

Brighton Beach - western end

Walk westward along the pebbles of Brighton Beach, past the piers and the i360, and you will eventually reach a somewhat rusty metal fence barring your way - marking the western end of the public beach (see also How long is Brighton Beach). It’s not impossible to climb over the fence, or walk around at lower tide times, but a tatty blue sign announces it is a ‘Private Beach’ and asks whoever happens to reach the railings to ‘Please kindly respect our privacy’. You can see the backs of the much-extended and windowed terrace of expensive houses stretching towards Shoreham, with the power station chimney in the far distance.

The houses here at the western end - all actually closer to the sea than any other residences along Brighton Beach - have long since been nicknamed Millionaire’s Row, though their postal address is Western Esplanade. Originally termed Aldrington Beach Bungalows, the area comprised simple seaside retreats. By the 1920s, these properties were officially designated as Hove Seaside Villas. Unlike typical public seafronts, they were developed on private land, featuring a private road and unique access to private beaches down to the low water mark - a distinction that sets them apart from most other coastal properties. The privilege was later formalised through legal agreements, and these were further solidified with the council in 1984.

Western Esplanade has been (and/or still is) home to numerous celebrities and prominent figures: Fatboy Slim (Norman Cook), Zoe Ball, Adele, Paul McCartney and Heather Mills, comedian David Walliams, and actor Nick Berry. A few properties have changed hands in recent years confirming the Millionaire’s Row tag: 4 Western Esplanade sold for £3.25 in 2022, 2a Western Esplanade sold for £1.5m in 2023, and 8 Western Esplanade sold for £2.9m last year.  

These beach houses are set to benefit from a major £35m project - Brighton Marina to River Adur Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Scheme - involving Adur District Council, Shoreham Port, the Environment Agency, and the Western Esplanade Management Company (acting for the Millionaire’s Row owners).  See also Brighton and Hove News.

The scheme is aimed at enhancing coastal defences along the 10km stretch between Brighton Marina and the River Adur with the primary goal of mitigating the risks posed by climate change and rising sea levels to residential houses (i.e. Millionaire’s Row) and commercial properties (including Shoreham Sewage Pumping Station and Shoreham Power Station) along the coastline. It involves constructing rock revetments, repairing and strengthening flood walls and defences (some 15,000 tonnes of granite rocks to be heaped on the beach), replacing inadequate structures, and installing new timber groynes.

Coming soon: Brighton Beach - eastern end

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

‘Fantastic new refectory’

The new Reading Room cafe! What a fabulous addition to the Kemp Town end of Brighton Beach. Some 190 years after it was first constructed the small but majestic building has finally been rescued from years of ignominy as a glorified storage closet. Long may it serve coffee and croissants.

The Reading Room was constructed in 1835 as part of the grand Kemp Town development, designed by architect William Kendall. Located below the Esplanade and near the tunnel entrance to the Enclosures (private gardens), it formed part of a larger architectural ensemble that included The Temple and Esplanade Cottages. The Reading Room’s classical aesthetic included a stuccoed exterior with Tuscan pilasters and round-arched openings. 

Originally intended as a communal space for the affluent residents of Lewes Crescent and Sussex Square, it provided a sheltered area for reading and socialising while enjoying views of the sea. By the late 19th century, its original purpose had diminished. The room was repurposed as a potting shed for the estate gardener and later used for various storage purposes, such as housing tennis nets when lawn tennis became popular in the 1880s. During World War II, like other parts of Kemp Town’s infrastructure, it was utilised for military storage, reflecting the wartime transformation of civilian spaces.

The Reading Room underwent significant restoration as part of Brighton’s Black Rock Rejuvenation Project (led by Brighton & Hove City Council with funding from the Coast to Capital Local Enterprise Partnership). The building’s refurbishment was completed in November 2024 when it opened as a ‘refectory’ and community hub. Its features are said to include modern amenities such as floor-to-ceiling windows, a terrace with sea views, and sustainable design elements. Councillor Mitchie Alexander stated ‘The opening of this fantastic new refectory continues the journey that is revitalising the eastern seafront.’

Fantastic new refectory? I wouldn’t disagree, was good-looking and buzzing when I last visited.

Mystery Brighton Beach man

It is 15 years ago to the day that a passer-by found - on 12 February 2010 - a well-dressed man on Brighton Beach, east of the pier, soaking wet and unconscious. He was taken to the nearby Royal Sussex County Hospital where he was diagnosed with hypothermia (the beach in February is pretty cold). It soon became clear that he had no idea who he was; and although he had a few personal belongings there was nothing to identify him. There have been a few other reported cases of unidentified individuals being washed-up (literally or metaphorically) on British beaches, and the media loves a good beach mystery - see also Reggie Perrin disappears, again and again and again . . .

After exhausting various lines of inquiry, the police decided to appeal to the public, using a photograph of the mystery Brighton Beach man, and this led to his fiancee identifying him as a 26 year old from London. Although still in a fragile state two weeks later, he was said to be making a good recovery. According to the police, the man’s family was informed but neither they nor the man himself wished for his name to be released to the public. See more at the BBC and The Independent.

Some five years earlier, a disoriented individual had been found in a dripping wet shirt and tie near the beach on the Isle of Sheppey. He was taken to Medway Maritime Hospital in Gillingham, but refused to say who he was or to speak at all. However, when given pen and paper, he drew a piano (see The Guardian), and subsequently played a piano for hours, with staff describing it as a way for him to control nerves and tension. He was dubbed the ‘Piano Man’, and the case attracted international attention. Some four months later he claimed his memory had returned, and he revealed his identity as Andreas Grassl from Germany. An article in the Mirror provided a few more details: Grassl had come to Britain on a Eurostar train after losing his job in Paris; he had been planning to commit suicide when he was discovered on the beach, and he would not talk because he was so distressed. See Wikipedia.

Much more recently, in September 2023, there was a similar case of a man - this time dressed in black motorcycle gear - who was found near Weymouth’s seafront in Dorset. Initially he was unable to tell police who he was or where he came from. Investigators eventually determined that he was a 43-year-old Latvian man. See the Lad Bible for more.

Rock ‘n’ roll at the bowls club

Back to Hove Lawns (after Not the Mary Clarke Park article a couple of weeks ago) where a (virtual) row erupted yesterday. According to the Brighton & Hove News, a council licensing panel hearing was disrupted by residents heckling against plans to allow Hove and Kingsway Bowling Club - recently relocated to the new sports hub building on Hove Beach - a so-called club premises certificate.

Bowling goes back a long way on Hove Lawns, starting with Hove Bowling Club in 1896. Subsequently, Kingsway Bowling Club was launched one hundred years ago in 1925. The two clubs co-existed for nearly 50 years, when they joined forces half a century ago to become Hove & Kingsway Bowling Club in 1975 - though it took another 30 years before women were allowed to join (though they did have their own bowls club). 

Public interest in bowling has declined in recent years, and the club‘s greens have dropped from five to two. Judy Middleton’s online history of Hove has a comprehensive history of the bowling greens along with some excellent old photos.

The complaints yesterday at the council meeting were from residents living in flats across the road. They focused on noise and nuisance and what they said was a lack of action in response to complaints about the old bowls club venue. One resident was quoted in the News as saying ‘historically, the club has become a bit overzealous with the events they are holding, in terms of the size, scale and noise levels.’ Another resident was quoted as saying: ‘I love concerts. I’ve been to more than you could shake a stick at. But when it’s an ageing Status Quo rock band playing so loud [that] you have to have your windows closed on a beautiful summer’s day, that’s against my human rights to enjoy my own apartment.’

However, in response to the report, one commentator had this to say: ‘I’ve been in the bowls club the only outrageous thing to happen is you might find false teeth in your glass if you put it down. Have these busybodies got nothing else to do - there’s double glazing on the bowling club, then 35 yards of bowling green and then a 4 carriageway road (A259) and of course their own double glazing and that’s over the sounds of the seagulls!’

Fair point you might think. But, then, take a look at the bowling club’s Facebook page - where there is not much about bowls but a lot about music bands and rock ‘n’ roll!

4 Feb - ‘Better weather = bigger crowd, and all enjoying Gastric Band, with Mick and Elvis Al (and the rest of the band) giving us a great performance,  as always.’

29 Jan - ‘One thing we can all agree on, is that it was a lousy day last Sunday, but much improved by the presence of The Humbuckers, giving it their all for a small but appreciative crowd.’

22 Jan - ‘The Stuntmen kept us well-entertained on Sunday last, the old rock-n-rollers really enjoyed them.’

23 Dec - ‘Thanks go to Retro Ralph for performing at our as-close-as-we-can-get-to-Christmas do. Next week, we have our as-close-as-we-can-get-to-New Year’s Eve celebration featuring the marvellous Mad Badger, with not one, not two, but THREE sets giving us a great afternoon of music as only they can.’

The club’s agent, Nick Semper, argued, at the licensing meeting, that there had been no complaints since the club’s recent move, and that the club was not asking for an outdoor music licence but only for the same conditions as it had in its old premises. No other agency - the police, for example, nor the council’s environmental team - offered any objection, though there was a suggestion for a requirement that a responsible person monitor the music volume. A decision is expected in a few days.

Thanks to Brighton & Hove Museums for the old image of Western Lawns, long before Rock ‘n’ roll disturbed any peace!

Grand Junction Road

Work is due to begin next Monday, 17 February, on essential strengthening work to the promenade in front of the Palace Pier. The work is expected to take around eight weeks, according to the council, and is scheduled to finish before the Easter Bank Holiday weekend. The photograph accompanying this press release from the council shows the area between the Palace Pier entrance and Brighton Pier Roundabout. East from that point is Madeira Drive, and west is Grand Junction Parade which leads to King’s Road. 

Built on a newly-constructed sea wall, Grand Junction Parade opened nearly 200 years ago, on 10 December 1829, to provide a through route from Marine Parade to King’s Road for the first time. According to Tim Carder’s Encyclopaedia of Brighton, traffic had previously been forced to travel via King’s Road, Pool Valley and Old Steine. The new thoroughfare greatly eased the passage and quickly led to the establishment of a daily fashionable horse parade from Kemp Town in the east to the Brunswick Estate in the west. In 1929-1930 the Grand Junction Road and Madeira Drive promenades were extended over pillars to form a colonnaded walk on the Lower Esplanade below.

The council says the new strengthening work is needed to protect the arches so they can withstand ‘the weight of pedestrians, cyclists and vehicles in front of the pier for years to come’. Once the work is finished, a temporary surface will be laid before the new junction layout for Valley Gardens (inc. Brighton Pier Roundabout) is completed in 2026. Just like in 1829, this new layout will improve access between both sides of Valley Gardens: linking major areas in the east (St James’s Street and the hotels, bars and visitor attractions along Marine Parade and Madeira Drive) to the key areas to the west of (such as the city’s Cultural Quarter and shopping areas including the Lanes).

On a historical note, here is a colourful extract about the King’s Road from the 1881 Book of Brighton: as it was and as it is by Charles H. Ross, writer and professional cartoonist. ‘Can you believe it possible, that there was once a time when the King’s Road, Brighton, was not in existence? It is the truth, though. I would deceive no one willingly, whatever other guide book writers may do. It was not until about two years after the accession of George the Fourth that the road was formally opened, “amid the acclamations of 10,000 people” and a “royal salute from the 42-pounder at the Battery.” The King was in an open landau, accompanied by the Duke of York and the Iron Duke and the Duke of Dorset, and, according to an ancient custom, the spectators showered sweetmeats upon the royal and distinguished personages, who were not a little alarmed upon receiving, unexpectedly, these strange missiles upon their august noses. Casks of beer followed, not thrown like the sugarplums, of course, but tapped on the beach, and great were the rejoicings. Previous to this, although for many years Brighton had been the resort of fashion, the sea front of the town for carriages went no farther westward than a tumble-down public house called The Ship in Distress, at the corner of Middle Street.’ Ross’s witty guide can be read freely online at the HatthiTrust.

These two photographs of Grand Junction Road are taken from my 2014 book, Brighton & Hove Then & Now published by The History Press.

 

A rumble below the cocktails?

There’s a right construction bustle going on along the Madeira Drive beach front near Yellowave and Sea Lanes. Most of it stems from the work - now well under way - on Phase 1 of the Madeira Terrace restoration. See Madeira Terrace restoration - hurrah!. But there are also road works that have just started on the narrowest stretch of Madeira Drive; and, at the Jungle Rumble cafe, the owners are extending their roof terrace over the Volks Railway! 

Since the start of works on the central 28 arches of Madeira Terraces there has been much activity along the seafront road, especially in and around the new commercial centre focusing on Sea Lanes and Yellowave. But that little area has got even busier with digging up of the road to allow a new electricity cable to be run from the nearby substation to the construction works area under arches. ALS Civil & Mechanical Engineers is responsible for the works, presumably sub-contracted by JT Mackley & Co.

A little further along is Jungle Rumble, a cafe and mini-golf establishment; both are next to the council’s popular Peter Pan Playground. The cafe, in particular, has grown in recent years, with a roof terrace in 2022, and the winning of an alcohol licence. See Brighton and Hove News. 

Now, as these photos show, the cafe looks to be nearly doubling the size of its roof terrace. And, it is doing this by extending its roof out over the Volks railway lines. Time will tell whether rooftop cocktail drinkers might experience a rumble below. (Aerial image is a screenshot taken from the Jungle Rumble website video.)

‘Big move forward’ for Alfred

After more than 20 years of proposals, plans, financial crises and hot air, a new £47m plan for rebuilding the near derelict King Alfred Leisure Centre, agreed last July, is on the move. Brighton & Hove City Council has just announced the appointment of Alliance Leisure to lead the design and build of the new Alfred. Alliance Leisure is described as the ‘UK’s leading leisure development specialist’ having delivered more than 260 such projects in the last 25 years.

Originally built in 1939 as the Hove Marina, the facility was ready to open its doors when World War II broke out. The Royal Navy immediately commandeered the building, transforming it into a training centre, and as such it was commissioned as HMS King Alfred (after the King that is often given credit for founding England’s first navy). Initially,  after the war, the swimming pools were filled with filtered seawater. However, this salty setup was decommissioned in 1977, and after a £4 million redevelopment, the pools reopened in 1980 using fresh water. 

In the mid-1980s, three water slides were built onto the east side, feeding into a plunge pool. These were named ‘The Black Hole’, the red ‘Aqua-jet’, and the yellow ‘Twister’ for beginners. They gave the building a good deal of external character. Unfortunately, though, they did not last well: health and safety concerns led to their closure in late 2000 and their eventual removal in 2009. Some say, they were gobbled up by the (mini-golf) dinosaurs that now roam freely on that side of the building. 

Over recent years, the centre has attracted numerous redevelopment proposals. In 2003, ambitious £290 million plans by Frank Gehry, including two twenty-storey towers, were accepted but later dropped due to the 2008 financial crisis. In 2016, new redevelopment plans by Haworth Tompkins were selected, featuring 560 flats and ‘world-class leisure and community facilities’, but these too fell by the wayside.

In April 2023, plans for a new leisure centre emerged, including an eight-lane 25-metre competition swimming pool and an eight-court sports hall. In August 2024, the council approved plans to demolish the existing centre and replace it with a new £47 million complex, scheduled for completion in 2028. 

Alliance Leisure has now just been the appointed delivery partner under the streamlined procurement procedures (in place under the so-called UK Leisure Framework). Announced partners include: GT3 Architects, civil and structural engineers Engenuiti, the engineering consultancy Van Zyl & de Villiers, and Hadron Consulting as technical project manager.

Councillor Alan Robins said: ‘I’m really pleased to have Alliance Leisure on the project. I’ve seen what they’ve delivered elsewhere - and they understand the challenges that are unique to the sector better than anyone. [. . .] The 80-year-old King Alfred Leisure Centre is beyond the end of its life and challenging to operate, but it remains one of the most well-used facilities in the city. We’ll continue to do what we can to keep it open for as long as feasible, while we progress our exciting new plans.’

See also the council’ Sports Facilities Investment Plan 2021-31, and a superb history of King Alfred’s with many old photographs at Judy Middleton’s Hove in the Past website.

Given that the leisure centre is only a pebble’s throw from the pebbles, and taking a lead, perhaps, from Sea Lanes further east, the new building could embrace the idea of large windows to the south, allowing swimmers to feel part of the great salty setup beyond. 

Not the Mary Clarke Park

The Kingsway to the Sea project in West Hove is making significant strides, with the new outdoor sports hub looking good and nearing completion. This ambitious £13.7 million initiative, primarily funded by a £9.5 million grant from the government’s Levelling Up Fund, aims to rejuvenate the beach and seafront zone between the King Alfred Leisure Centre and Hove Lagoon. In 2024, the name Mary Clarke Park only just lost out in a vote to rename the project area.

The outdoor sports hub is set to become a focal point of the whole development. It will feature a new cafe with a terrace, public toilets, changing facilities, and a new home for the bowls club. Beyond the sports hub, the project encompasses a revitalised park stretching from Hove Lagoon to the King Alfred Leisure Centre, offering dedicated spaces for various activities. There will, of course, be new greens for bowling (a sport which dominated the Western Lawns since the Edwardian era). But there will also be a croquet lawn, padel tennis courts, sand courts, a new skate park, and a 150-meter-long pump track. 

Approximately 40,000 square meters of green space will be restored, Morgan Sindell, the constructors say, with new trees and flowers planted to achieve a Biodiversity Net Gain. The design includes new gardens serving as oasis areas, providing tranquil spots for relaxation amidst the bustling seafront. A new, accessible route will run through most of the park, allowing visitors to navigate the area without needing to venture onto Kingsway or the Esplanade. New benches, too, are being installed among the mulch, grass tufts, and young trees. With wooden slats and an orange-painted metal frame they reflect contemporary public seating trends, blending natural materials with vibrant, durable metals.

Local organisations - the West Hove Seafront Action Group and the West Hove Forum for example - have actively participated in shaping the Kingsway to the Sea project. And, early last year, the public were involved in voting for a new name for the area. Hove Beach Park came top with 23% of the votes, beating Mary Clarke Park into second place (19%). Which is a shame, because Mary Clarke Park has such a nice ring to it; moreover, Clarke was a key Brighton figure in suffragette history: she was the younger sister of Emmeline Pankhurst; and she died two days after leaving prison, becoming the first suffragette martyr in history.

The Meeting Place progress

Right on the old boundary between Hove and Brighton and on the beach, sits a much loved cafe - The Meeting Place. It’s been through several transformations during nearly a century of serving teas, and is currently close to re-emerging in its new build form, modern, sleek and designed to fit aesthetically within the location.

Originally established in the 1930s a few feet on the Hove side of the boundary, the Meeting Place cafe was little more than a small wooden kiosk. In 2002, due to preservation orders preventing expansion on the Hove side, the café relocated a few feet east to a new building on the Brighton side of the border. Over the years, the cafe has featured in several books, films, and TV dramas, including the television series Poirot. A documentary was produced for the Brighton Festival, capturing the story of the beloved old kiosk before its demolition.

The establishment remained under the same ownership until 2021, when it was bought by Hikmet Tabak and Bulent Ekinci. The duo put forward plans to rebuild the cafe as a two-storey building with a roof terrace, but this was opposed by The Conservation Advisory Group and deemed too large and intrusive. The plans were revised significantly - by dropping the two-storey design and roof terrace, reducing the floor space, and decreasing the seating capacity. These plans were approved in June 2023, and construction started a year ago this weekend - see the cafe’s Facebook page (scroll down for a feast of cakes and other dishes). Architectural plans, maps and proposed visuals are all available in the council’s planning proposal documents.

In a statement (reported in the local news) prepared by the owner’s agent, Lewis and Co Planning, the applicants said: ‘To preserve the important character of the conservation area, the proposed cafe would be single storey in height so as not obstruct the sweeping views along the seafront and towards the Regency terraces and squares. As the proposal would replace the existing, somewhat dated and tired-looking cafe, it is considered that there would be a neutral impact on the setting. Although the footprint would be larger, the proposed replacement building has been designed with simple clean lines and finished in a muted colour palette to reduce the potential for it to compete visually with the Edward VII Memorial [Peace statue], the setting of which provides for clear views of the statue against expansive skies and the sea.’

Construction is nearing completion as can be seen by the top photo from recent days. In the meantime, a temporary structure a few feet to the west - a brief return for the cafe to Hove and to its more basic roots! - has been doing good business. The chalkboard menu offers gourmet burgers and fine illustrations.

  

Incredulous and angry

Oh the irony, the i360 irony! Brighton & Hove Council has agreed to release the security on its £51m loan debt and rolled-up interest in the failed i360 business. Concerted efforts were made to find a buyer before it went into administration late last year - see i360 stranded sky with sky high debts - but without success. Writing off the debt, the council concluded in an urgent meeting last night, was the only way forward, leaving the administrators, Interpath Advisory, free to negotiate with an as-yet unnamed buyer.

A full report of the council meeting and write-off decision can viewed at the Brighton & Hove News website. The council leader Bella Sankey was reported as saying: ‘If the i360 can operate again then it can help bring in business rates. And if we proceed with the recommended buyer that has come forward, the city council will get a small share of future revenues. While this may be the least-worst option, I understand why residents are so incredulous that this situation has come to pass - I’m incredulous and angry.’

Sankey also suggested that a derelict i360 would become like the West Pier but without its ‘rugged rustiness’ loved by many. The ironies of this situation, of course, are as visible as the i360 tower itself. Part of the rationale for the original project was that it would generate funds for the West Pier Trust, which owns the West Pier ruin and the land on which the i360 sits, and that it could lead to a rebuilding of the West Pier - ha ha! Now, though, the rusting West Pier still stands, a warning to all those involved with the i360 of where abandonment can lead. And yet, that abandoned infrastructure has also deteriorated, one might say, into one of Brighton’s major tourist attractions.

It is worth noting this from the council’s report to last night’s meeting: ‘Restarting operation of the attraction is important, and not just for the visitor economy. Any option that sees the attraction abandoned would result in a significant and extremely visible blight - not just to the beach but in key views across the whole city. The practical reality is that demolition of the attraction could, potentially, end up falling to the council and could also come at considerable cost.’

And here is the (rather optimistic) conclusion to that report: ‘The i360 has been a catalyst for regeneration benefits in that part of the seafront, and it has positively contributed to the city’s tourism economy since 2016. However, these benefits have come at considerable cost to the public purse, and the money could have been used to deliver other public benefit. The new owners come with a clean slate and are not linked to the previous ownership and are not in any way responsible for the previous harm to the public purse. As such they and the i360 should be supported to be a success so has the potential to generate revenue that the city council will share into the future.’

We wait to learn who next will take on the sky-high attraction. (NB: The photograph above dates from 10 years ago during the construction phase - does it bring a headless chicken to mind?) 

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.

RNLI to take over beach safety

Brighton and Hove City Council has just announced that the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) will take over the training and managing of the city’s lifeguards from the council’s Seafront Office. Last season, the Office employed around 40 lifeguards working across ten different beach areas. One of the key requirements for an RNLI lifeguard is to be able run 200m on sand in under 40 seconds - not that he/she will find much sand to run on in Brighton.

The RNLI already manages lifeguard services around the country at more than 200 beaches. The charity says its lifeguards dealt with over 2,000 incidents in 2023, assisted nearly 2,500 people in the south east of England alone, and saved 14 lives. 

This week, Councillor Birgit Miller said: ‘Thousands of people visit our glorious seafront each summer and keeping them safe and happy is a huge priority for us. With council budgets continually stretched, we wanted to look at how we could continue to provide a high-quality seasonal service, while getting the best possible value for money for our residents. By working in partnership with the RNLI, which has a proven track record of working with local authorities, we can maintain the current level of service and provide value for money, but also benefit from best practice and knowledge built up over decades.’

Although the council has not announced the financials of its agreement with the RNLI, a report prepared last April by the council revealed that the cost of the lifeguard service that summer, as managed by the Seafront Office, would be £482,193. 

The report also provided more details of the then current operation. The Seafront Office, with seven core staff, is responsible for the end-to-end lifeguard recruitment process, lifeguard inductions, weekly training and management of the operation. Moreover, it is responsible for managing and maintaining a controlled and safe seafront environment, daily patrols, incident management, stakeholder engagement, byelaw enforcement, seafront maintenance, public safety and incident prevention throughout the year.

Key tasks for lifeguards are listed as: 

- water safety advice 

- drowning prevention

- emergency response to water-based incidents,

- emergency response to life-threatening land-based incidents

- minor first aid

- missing persons search and reunite

- sun safety advice, weather and tide information

- hazard identification

- byelaw enforcement on beach (including dogs and barbecues)

Fun fact about RNLI lifeguards: They don’t just rescue humans - they’ve also helped rescue some unexpected animals, such as deer, seals, a terrapin, and even a water-logged puffin! They’ve also become experts at catching runaway inflatable pool toys like unicorns, donuts, and flamingos that get swept out to sea.

NB: More about the history of the RNLI in Brighton coming later in January. 

10 years on, remembering Dan and Freddie

Sadly, it is ten years today since the drowned body of Dan Nichols, only 23 years old, was found. In the company of friends and in the early hours of Saturday morning, he had taken up a dare to stand close by the water’s edge near Palace Pier (as it was then known). The weather was later described as ‘gale force nine and very dangerous’. A huge wave hit Dan, knocking him off his feet. He was pulled into the sea and out from the shoreline. One of his friends, Freddie Reynolds, aged 24, dived in to rescue him, but he was also swept out and away. The others tried to enter the water, but were beaten back by the waves. They had one last glimpse of Dan and Freddie together and struggling before they lost sight of them.

Local police, the Coastguard, and Sussex Search and Rescue teams scoured the shoreline from the West Pier to Saltdean Lido during the night and the next day, aided by a National Police Air Service helicopter. But it was a member of the public who found the first body, Freddie Reynolds at Saltdean, four miles east of the pier. The following morning, Dan’s body was washed up not far from that of his friend, in Rottingdean.   

Young lives cut so terribly short. 

Freddie was a very loyal and brilliant friend, his family said. He was always looking out for his friends and family and people loved to be around him. He was incredibly funny and loved a joke and a banter. Dan’s family said: ‘Dan was very bright, he was quick and witty, loved music which he both made and produced, and he enjoyed skateboarding.

Both the above photographs appeared in the Daily Mail report: Drowned for £50: Two dead after daring each other for just a few pounds to stand at the water's edge on Brighton Pier.

DCI Carwyn Hughes was quoted in The Guardian: ‘We are relieved that the bodies of the two men have been recovered. This has been a traumatic weekend for Dan and Freddie’s friends and family. What was meant to be a bit of fun turned out so tragically with Dan snatched from the water’s edge and Freddie bravely diving in to try to save him.

Our sympathies go to their families, whom we are supporting. I want to thank those who braved the terrible conditions to search night and day for the two men. The dedicated crews include coastal rescue services, volunteers from Sussex search and rescue team, seafront officers and specialist search officers. This is a tragic incident and I urge people to think of their safety and keep away from the sea when it is so dangerous.’ Dan is on the left, Freddie on the right.

Tragically, deaths associated with Brighton Beach seem all too frequent - all four of these reports appeared in the last two years.

Woman who died in sea at Brighton was ‘passionate’ space student

Body found on beach confirmed to be 21-year-old Brighton man

Man dies after going into the sea in Hove

Man’s body found washed up on beach in Hove

Madeira Terrace restoration - hurrah!

At last, hurrah, restoration work on the Madeira Drive terraces - such a major feature of the sea front east of Brighton Pier - has begun. Well, in fact, work began late last year, with vegetation and rubbish clearance, but now the refurbishment of 28 (of 151) arches and the construction of a new lift is underway with hope of the first restored section being opened in 2026. It’s been a long haul for the council since it closed the entire length of Madeira Walk, the upper deck, and some of the staircases nearly a decade ago. 

Originally designed by Brighton Borough Surveyor Philip C. Lockwood, the terraces were built during the late Victorian era to capitalise on flourishing seaside tourism. Extending to 865 meters, the terraces were the longest continuous cast-iron structure in Britain. The covered promenade - offering visitors shelter and stunning views - formed part of a larger complex with Madeira Walk, the Madeira Lift, and the Madeira Shelter Hall - all elements sharing a cohesive architectural style and color scheme (the very familiar turquoise). Between the wars, the terrace was extended to connect with the aquarium; and during post-war years, the attractive extent of Madeira Drive became a magnet for big events and large crowds - The Brighton Speed Trials, for example, and the Veteran Car Run.

Decades of inadequate maintenance, however, led to safety concerns and the closure of some areas as early as 2012; more sections were progressively shut until almost all of the structures were fenced off by 2016. By 2021, the terrace was considered to be in a state of ‘severe disrepair’, with parts at risk of collapse. The council has struggled to raise the finance necessary to undertake such a huge refurbishment job - in 2016, the cost was estimated at £25m. Although it twice failed to secure any Lottery finance, the Council has bulked out its own contribution with funds from Historic England and a crowdfunding campaign. It’s worth noting that 100 odd documents are associated with the planning application for this project - Brighton & Hove City Council.

Following a public invitation to tender, civil engineering contractor JT Mackley & Co. was appointed to undertake the first phase. Mackley specialises in tackling challenging coastline schemes and claims it has experience of working on world heritage sites, scheduled monuments and listed buildings. Other project partners include: Purcell (conservation architects), HOP (local engineers), Landscape Projects, and Stantec (lighting and design). Here is the latest project update from Mackley, which is impressively detailed.

‘With the area now demarcated, the site made safe, and our welfare cabin and services installed, Mackley’s role in the restoration project has begun in earnest. Working closely with ecologists, we have started the process of safely removing the excess vegetation from the Green Wall and this work will continue into the New Year. We have retained the nutrient-rich soil for future planting and have successfully taken a number of cuttings including some from the mature Japanese Spindle plants and the Hoary Stock, one of rarest native plants found on the green wall. The plant cuttings and soil have been taken away and placed in storage, protecting them from the works so that they can be replanted in the future. The team have also made progress removing old cabling and Yorkstone paving from the wall and have started removing the tarmac and benches from the upper promenade. Our next step is to apply paint-stripper to the bolts on the cast-iron arches, which are thick with multiple layers of rust and paint Once this is removed, and we can undo the bolts, we will begin the process of dismantling the 28 arches included in Phase 1 of the project. Each arch has numerous sections, all forged independently, and each piece will need to be cleaned, tested, and examined by our specialists To make sure we put them back In the exact same spot, we will employ a complex system of tagging as they are taken apart.’

Further information and updates on the restoration project are also available from the council.

i360 stranded sky high - with sky-high debts

Less than 10 years since a mirrored doughnut carried its first passengers high into the sky, the infamous i360 has become stranded there. The 162-meter observation tower opened in 2016 as a bold, futuristic addition to Brighton’s seafront. Designed by the creators of the London Eye, it promised stunning views from its observation car (the doughnut on a stick!), and a boost to local tourism. However, the project quickly ran into trouble, plagued by technical issues, long queues, and underwhelming visitor numbers. 

A click on the company’s website now provides no more than a brief stark announcement: ‘Steve Absolom and Will Wright were appointed Joint Administrators of Brighton I-360 Limited - in Administration (the ‘Company’) on 20 December 2024 and as a result the Company has ceased trading immediately. Please direct all queries to Brightoni360@interpath.com.’

The structure, reportedly, cost £46m, partly paid for with a whopping £36m loan from the Public Works Loan Board via Brighton & Hove City Council. The then council leader, Simon Burgess, predicted the facility would ‘transform the city’ and generate significant revenue. For its first five years it was glamorously sponsored by British Airways, but early technical faults and financial difficulties seemed to bode less than well. 

In December 2022, the attraction defaulted on its council debt, and in November 2024, Brighton i360 Ltd filed for administration - citing (rather lamely don’t you think) rising costs, unfavourable weather, and the cost-of-living crisis. On 20 December, it closed abruptly, with all 100 plus employees made redundant. Brighton & Hove City Council announced an inquiry into the closure, and it revealed that the owners owed the council a staggering £51 million. The council, which pays £2.2 million annually for the loan until 2040, faces significant financial repercussions. Deputy leader Jacob Taylor described the investment as having been ‘a financial disaster for the council.’

And a long-term eyesore to boot. It seems I was calling the i360 an eyesore before it was even completed. Here’s an entry from my diary, a few weeks before the opening.

20 July 2016

‘The i360 is soon to open, I read in the ‘Argus’, and tickets have gone on sale for the 20 minute ‘flight’. It’s owned or operated by British Airways, and has some slick advertising and promotion, but I take exception to the idea that it’s a vertical ‘pier’, and that where Victorians walked out above the sea, we can now walk on air. That might have some truth if the floor were glass and transparent, but I’m pretty sure it’s not. The pod can hold up to 200 people - that wouldn’t be much fun would it. And £13.50-15 for an adult ticket! For 20 minutes entertainment, and nothing more than a view. A) piers were never that expensive, and B) there was no time limit, and C) most piers had/have different kinds of entertainment, things to see/do. Pah! is all I can say. And I’ve come to see the tall column, with its teeny-weeny pod when seen from afar, as a bit of an eyesore.’

In 2015, during construction of the i360, there was some very colorful wall art on the surrounding fencing. I photographed it for my blog Graffiti Brighton. Here’s a sample.

Reggie Perrin disappears, again and again and again . . .

Exactly ten years ago today - on 3 January 2015 shortly after 11 am - a member of the public reported a ‘Reggie Perrin pile of clothes’ abandoned on Brighton beach near Duke’s Mound. The police force appealed to anyone who saw anything suspicious and also itemized the clothes: ‘a black XX large Superdry jacket with an orange lining, a pair of 34in waist black George-brand trousers and a large blue Hollister t-shirt’. Brighton and Hove News.

Reggie Perrin was a fictional character, devised 50 years ago by David Nobbs in his 1975 book The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin. However, he became famous through a quirky and highly successful sitcom - of the same name - that ran from 1976 to 1979. 

In one episode, Perrin faked his own suicide by leaving a pile of clothes on a beach. This soon became linked with the true life events - a little before Nobbs’ book - surrounding John Stonehouse, a Labour Party politician had done the same thing. The act of trying to fake one’s own death in this way became known in the media as ‘doing a Reggie Perrin’. And, ever since, Reggie has, apparently, been leaving piles of clothes all over the country (especially in Kent!).

August 1999 - Reggie Perrin style mystery baffles police

Police were baffled by a Reggie Perrin style mystery when two piles of clothing were found at Cotestones beach near Warton on Saturday.

Lancashire Telegraph

September 2003 - Reggie Perrin-type mystery baffles police 

Police are trying to piece together the last movements of a man reported missing more than a week ago in a Reginald Perrin-style mystery.

Kent Online

August 2008 - Clothes left on beach in Reggie Perrin-style mystery

A large section of the coast around Margate is being trawled this morning after two sets of clothes turned up on the beach overnight.

Kent Online

May 2011 - Reggie Perrin fake death paedophile guilty

A man who faked his own death by leaving his clothing, car keys and a suicide note on a Lancashire beach has been convicted of child sex offences.

BBC

June 2011 - The £100m Reggie Perrin? The dead City tycoon who fled his creditors to Borneo but may still be alive

Mail Online

December 2016 - Beach vanishing act

Cops probe ‘Reggie Perrin-style’ disappearance after man’s clothes discovered abandoned on a beach. The dumped clothes which included a leather jacket, a top, trousers, trainers and vaping stick were found on a beach in Southsea, Hampshire.

The Sun