BRIGHTON AND SUSSEX COAST | Full Summary of Projects

[RSWB]

Last Updated: 7th January 2009

The development thread for projects in and around Brighton, if you have any info on any development news in this area please post here.
Here's a current run down of the major developments planned for Brighton.




Brighton Centre redevelopment (Not expected to start until 2012 at the earliest) - Our biggest and most important development project worth around £500 million will include -

*A new state of the art conference centre to replace the ageing brighton centre,
*An expansion of the churchill square shopping centre (an extra level of retail will be created and also the mall will be extended down to the sea which will double the size of the centre to 90,000 square metres of retail space)
*A new department store
*A luxury five star hotel
*Hundreds of new apartments
*New cinema to replace the existing Odeon kingswest building
*Creation of new streets and public spaces around the area
*The development is expected to include a landmark tall building of around 43 storeys.

We are eagerly awaiting the plans to be released but here is an aerial view of the site that is to be developed.


The current conference centre (picture taken from http://www.aerialphotographyforyou.co.uk:




The Brighton i360 (Under Construction) - 183m observation tower.






Brighton International Arena (On hold) - If built the arena building will consist of two Olympic sized ice pads (a public skating rink and a main arena to host concerts and shows with capacity of up to 11,000), restaurants, cafes & bars, hospitality suites, museum, auditorium and complimentary retail

image hosted on flickr


image hosted on flickr





New England Quarter - £200 million development of the Brighton station goods yard site in the city centre, the masterplan includes:

*Two new hotels (jurys inn and raddison) - nothing yet from beetham with hopefully a redesigned hotel/resi tower for raddison as the first was rejected.
*355 new apartments and warehouse flats of which 30 percent will be affordable housing - see first pic below which shows the barrat homes part of the site and will include a 12 storey building, the other part of the residential scheme will be developed by crest nicholson/bioregional and will be an eco friendly development.
*A 150,000 ft2 European headquarters complex for an international teaching organisation
*Commercial facilities incorporating a 30,000 ft2 (2,800 m2) office building and 20,000 ft2 (1,858m2) of space for small businesses
*A 25,000 ft2 (2,323 m2) sales area Sainsbury's supermarket with an underground 194-space shoppers' car park together with three unit shops.
*Training and community facilities including a 17,500 ft2 (1,660 m2) training centre and a 10,000 ft2 (929 m2) community centre - again no renders.
*A new transport interchange next to the station.
*A green corridor and Site of Nature Conservation Importance.
*A permanent 600-space car park for the station.

Jurys inn hotel


image hosted on flickr














The rejected 42 storey beetham tower (awaiting Beetham to come up with a re-design)




Falmer stadium (Under Construction) - A new home for Brighton & Hove albion, capacity will be 23,000

image hosted on flickr







Brighton Marina development - (On Hold)
40 storeys of sheer beauty, along with 850 apartments, bars, and a new footbridge.














Explore living marina proposals (planning application rejected, developer to appeal) - 300m scheme for the marina seperate from the brunswick scheme, will include a mixture of residential (1278 new apartments), retail and leisure housed in a variety of new buildings, some tall. (marina point tower 28 floors, marina square 16 floors)

The development areas -


Marina point tower


How both scheme's will look together




London road regeneration masterplan (plans at an early stage) - the plan is to transform the northern part of the city centre into a new cultural and business centre of the city

plans include -

*A "mini City of London" in the New England Quarter with tall buildings.
*A series of new office developments
*Restoration and improvements to shop facades.
*Improvements to the run-down car park to the west of London Road and the possible creation of another to the east.
*A green boulevard leading from The Level to the seafront, cutting the fourlane carriageway to the west down to a bus lane and moving all other traffic to the east.
*St Peter's Church transformed into art studios and a cultural centre.

[AndrewC]

Funky.

[Tubeman]

Shame this was rejected, It's gorgeous

[RSWB]

Originally Posted by Tubeman

Shame this was rejected, It's gorgeous

I know it ruined my weekend that did, can't believe our stupid council rejected it, one minute the council seem to be embracing tall buildings, (they made some positive comments about this development in the past) then they do a u turn and throw it out, bloody stupid.
I just hope a compromise is made and the developers don't abandon it totally because the marina needs this investment.

[RSWB]

News just in from the Brighton business forum:

Council looks at changes to Preston Barracks

Councillors are to discuss proposed changes to one of Brighton’s largest regeneration projects to ensure its financial viability. Alterations will radically improve the design of buildings at the site.


The location on the Lewes Road is earmarked for hundreds of homes for people on the council waiting list, plus properties for sale and commercial space which could bring over 1000 jobs.


An outline plan by Chichester Diocesan Housing Association, members of the Hyde Group, and developers Wilson Bowden was approved in March 2004 after a development competition.


The report recommends changes to enhance the scheme’s financial viability. These include


More attractive design of buildings
Investigating the possibility the scheme could include regeneration of the adjacent Pavilion Retail Park
Relocating a proposed Innovation Centre elsewhere
More homes and slightly fewer offices.
A move away from three medium-rise blocks in favour of a landmark tower.

The latest proposal increases private homes from 241 to 302 units. Affordable housing units would also increase from 171 to 200.


The 2.28ha site was bought by the council with help from the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) and Brighton & Hove Regeneration Partnership in 2002.


Developers are drawing up plans to consult the local community on the latest proposals and to establish a cross-party project board of councillors advised by senior officials, similar to the one which delivered Brighton’s successful new library.


Regeneration councillor Don Turner said: “These are exciting proposals which can meet the high aspirations demanded of the development. But we recognise there are considerable challenges ahead.”


Additional resources have been secured to undertake a detailed transport assessment of the Lewes Road corridor the results of which will be critical to the success of the scheme.


Environment councillor Gill Mitchell said: “The project has improved in urban design terms and I’m delighted that the sustainability aspirations are the highest possible standard. However additional work is required to mitigate the transport and traffic implications on the Lewes Road to support our air quality management programme.”


Rhys Daniel, commercial director for CDHA said: "We have explored every option to produce a deliverable scheme that meets the aspirations of stakeholders. We are confident that our work reflects the vision and spirit of modern Brighton & Hove and will create a vibrant new neighbourhood that sets national standards for mixed use regeneration."

oooh maybe just maybe ... nice landmark tower for lewes road wouldbe superb

[Black Cat]

Thanks Brighton Boy for a good thread. The Brighton Centre project will likely be the big one, though we may have to be patient and wait for the climate to change in Brighton towards tall buildings. Perhaps when the King Alfred project is completed, there may be a change in attitude similar to that in London and other cities when a good quality tall building is actually constructed. This is the unfortunate annoyance at the turning down of the marina project.

[RSWB]

yeah lets hope so mate, the thing is Brighton has a pretty fast growing population (roughly 2,000 extra people a year) and to house them all we need high density buildings as we are squashed between sea and downs and there's hardly any land left to build on, so I think the council will soon have to accept that the only way to go is up!

[large]

excellent post Brighton boy. How recent is that Medina house proposal? I know one got rejected a year or two ago, but with Gehry going ahead, I can imagine this should go through now.

Marina nightmare, hopefully something 20-30 stories will go ahead.

[RSWB]

Originally Posted by large

excellent post Brighton boy. How recent is that Medina house proposal? I know one got rejected a year or two ago, but with Gehry going ahead, I can imagine this should go through now.

Marina nightmare, hopefully something 20-30 stories will go ahead.

This was the article a few days ago in the argus about medina house, saying that the developers are going to re-submit their application which they withdrew a couple of years ago, although this time it will be a couple of storeys shorter 15, or 16 they say.

High-rise plan at eyesore site
From the archive, first published Friday 11th Nov 2005.

Plans for a high-rise flats development on the site of a derelict eyesore on Hove seafront have been revived.

Medina House at Kings Esplanade, Hove, would be demolished to make way for the 15 or 16-storey block.

An application for an 18-storey building on the site was withdrawn two years ago because Brighton and Hove City Council had not yet adopted a tall buildings policy.

Last month councillors backed plans for two high-rise towers at the nearby King Alfred site, the largest of which is 26 storeys.

Property developer Sirus Taghan, who bought Medina House from Hove Council in the Nineties, said he was likely to submit plans for the block next month and hoped to create "a special building in a very sensitive part of Hove."

Mr Taghan is under pressure to secure the long-term future of the site, which has become a dumping ground and a blight on the seafront since squatters moved in four years ago.

This week he was ordered by Brighton and Hove City Council to take urgent measures to repair the crumbling brickwork, give the building a coat of paint, replace the empty windows and secure the site with wooden hoardings. Mr Taghan has until November 26 to carry out the work.

He told The Argus: "Of course I will comply with the order because I am the last person who wants to see the site in its present condition. Don't forget I submitted a planning application to redevelop the site four years ago which was withdrawn on the advice of the council. Nobody can say I am being negligent.

"We are working very hard on designs and will be presenting our ideas to the council later this month.

"It is a sensitive area and our design will complement that and enhance and improve the area.

"It has taken time because it has to be right."

Residents have complained about Medina House for years. Conservative ward councillor Averil Older has been lobbying for it to be smartened up and for the squatters, who are occupying the building with Mr Taghan's consent, to be evicted.

She said: "Every summer more squatters arrive. The yard has been full of rubbish and oil drums and old furniture."

The building has been inspected by police, fire and environmental health services but they have found no grounds to evict the occupiers.

Mr Taghan said he initially evicted some squatters but was later approached by two artists who wanted to use Medina House as a workshop for the Chalk Circle group. He said: "I allowed them. They are good people and I am satisfied that, apart from perhaps one or two occasions in the summer where they played loud music, they have been responsible neighbours.

Coun Older said: "This notice is a stop-gap measure while the long-term future of the site is uncertain and I am pleased the owner is being made to do something about what is a horrendous eyesore."

Ken Fines, 82, who has been a vocal campaigner against the King Alfred plan, said: "I have said all along it would set a precedent for high-rise buildings in Hove and that is being borne out.

"I will oppose this development because, like the King Alfred, it is totally alien, out of scale and totally unsuitable."

Ken fines, 82 - leader of the save HOVA nimby group, he will probably not be with us once these high rises are complete anyway so I wish he'd just shut up and let our city evolve.
They have got to be one of the worst nimby groups around.

[large]

Cheers for that. I live near the site, and a mid rise tower would perfect, there are already severla 8 storey apartment blocks there, when will these prats realise that Brighton has to go up. It's NIMBYs that scuppered Brighton gateway and the tower planned for the Caffyns site. Developers will soon realise it's not worth submitting plans for Brighton and the town will start to decline unless the council ignore these small minded people..

[RSWB]

Here are some projects in Hastings, a great town on the up.

Station plaza under construction - Ambitious plans are underway to create Hastings Station Plaza - an inspiring gateway to the town for business visitors, tourists and residents alike. It will be a combination of business, education and retail space and 120 new homes as part of the UK's only Millennium Community beside the sea.








New university centre in Hastings - managed by the University of Brighton and provides courses from many of the best UK and international universities.



Pelham Place - World-renowned architect Foster & Partners is set to transform the Pelham Place site on Hastings' seafront with a striking contemporary development to complement the area's existing Regency architecture. This will include a civic space, top-class hotel, offices, shops, homes, cafes and restaurants. As a bustling public area, this showcase development will provide a powerful draw for locals, visitors, businesses, investment, employment and growth.






Hastings' redeveloped train station


Queensway - The Queensway development in northern Hastings will provide 16,000 m2 of high quality business space to attract larger, more established businesses to the area, helping to generate local jobs.


Ore valley - Transformation of the Ore Valley, with 700 new homes, overhaul of the rail and road system, new shops, community facilities and enhancement of the area's green spaces.







Disused buildings and a brownfield site have been used to develop high quality office space for creative companies. The cafe/restaurant unit in the new building will add to the diversity of Robertson Street.



St Leonards' Marina Pavilion is being renovated to become a high-quality, year-round seafront business and leisure venue to boost the area's daytime and evening economies.

[RSWB]

Details of the new development at preston barracks have been released by the argus today, maybe not quite the landmark tower I might of hoped for but 20 storeys is still good, here is the article.

High hopes for site of derelict barracks

A striking 20-storey tower is at the heart of new plans to transform a derelict military base.

The Preston Barracks site in Lewes Road, Brighton, has been earmarked for hundreds of homes for people on the council waiting list, properties for sale and commercial space which could provide more than 1,000 jobs.

Developers were given extra time to work on their proposals after their first submission was found to be unaffordable.

The latest plans, produced by Chichester Diocesan Housing Association (CDHA), architects Broadway Malyan and commercial developers Wilson Bowden, include less office space and more homes than the original scheme.

Commercial space has been reduced by about 1,000sqm, to 18,706sqm, and the number of homes increased from 412 to 502, which includes 200 affordable units.

The consortium is also looking at widening the scheme to include the nearby Pavilion Retail Park, which contains B&Q, Halfords and Comet stores. One option would involve bulldozing the 20-year-old site and rebuilding from scratch.

The latest changes, which are an attempt to make the £100 million scheme viable, mean the number of jobs forecast to be created has fallen from 1,221 to 1,183.

But councillors gave it their blessing at a meeting of the policy and resources committee last week.

Rhys Daniel, the CDHA's commercial director, said: "We have explored every option to produce a deliverable scheme which meets the aspirations of people and businesses.

"We are confident our work reflects the vision and spirit of modern Brighton and Hove and will create a vibrant new neighbourhood."

On the current timetable the developer's first planning application would be submitted to the council by October 2006.

If successful, construction work would begin in 2007 and the site completed by 2013 - 11 years after the council bought it from the Ministry of Defence with the help of the South East England Development Agency and Brighton and Hove Regeneration Partnership.

The offices and homes could not come too soon. Brighton and Hove is facing a pressing shortage of both and it is hoped the new development will help tempt large businesses to relocate to the city as well as providing high-quality facilities for smaller start-up companies.

Tony Mernagh of the Brighton and Hove Business Forum said: "We are definitely short of large, good-quality office space and that is what we need to attract more big employers. It's unfortunate progress is taking this long but understandable given the nature of the site. This scheme is better than the original one."

Regeneration councillor Don Turner said: "These are exciting proposals which can meet the high aspirations demanded of the development."

Developers are drawing up plans to consult the community on the latest proposals and a transport study will be conducted in the Lewes Road area to calculate the effect of the development on air pollution and traffic.

Environment councillor Gill Mitchell said: "The project has improved but additional work is required to mitigate the transport and traffic implications on the Lewes Road to support our air quality management programme."

[RSWB]

Just got a copy of the argus, and they have a render of the proposed tower at preston barracks on one of their pages, which I will scan in on monday, I've counted the floors and it is more than 20 storeys it's around 25 so that's good news.
I also quite like the design, not as good as the marina tower but still very nice,and will be a striking gateway into Brighton city centre, i'll scan it in when i'm back at home on monday.

[large]

Shame it's not in the city centre.

[Preston_guy]

Some great projects for Brighton and the area. The International Arena looks great

[RSWB]

Good news on the king alfred scheme, it gains support from cabe.

Bold seafront plans gain support

Plans for a development scheme on Hove seafront by world-renowned architect Frank Gehry has been backed by a government-funded buildings watchdog.
But the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (Cabe) said the £290m project does need further work.

The design for the King Alfred leisure centre site includes 754 flats, 40% of which are affordable housing, in two towers and several lower blocks.

It also includes a sports centre with a multi-coloured domed roof.

Cabe said it liked the "distinctive and quirky architecture that could be something entirely new to Brighton and Hove - much like the Royal Pavilion when it was built."

But it was concerned some of the accommodation was too small and a number of the apartments lack sufficient private space.

It also said more imagination needed to be put into public spaces.

Cabe concluded the council "should satisfy itself that this will not only be a remarkable new architectural addition to the city but also a good place to live for all, in well designed homes".

Gehry, an award-winning Canadian architect whose previous work includes the titanium-clad Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, teamed up with Brighton developer Karis Holdings for the project.

The King Alfred development, which originally included four towers, has been criticised as an "eyesore" and looking "like Noddyland".

Many local residents have called it a "monstrosity".

They said it is completely out of kilter with the character of Hove, which has always been seen as the more genteel sister of brash Brighton.

But leader of Brighton and Hove City Council, Ken Bodfish, insists it is time for the city, famous for its Regency heritage, to move forward.

[RSWB]

Here is the proposed 25 storey tower to be built on lewes road in Brighton, it is on the main road into town from the north east and will be a striking gateway into the city centre, the site is very near the northern tip of the city centre and it will look like the city centre has expanded northwards somewhat.

Scanned in from Friday's edition of the argus.

[RSWB]

Simon Fanshawe (chairman of the brighton economic partnership) accuses the council of holding back the city by putting their political lives before the future of Brighton, I couldn't agree more, below is a short article of what was said.

In the article that was printed in the argus today, Mr Fanshawe also said that the developers behind the marina project have a good chance of winning an appeal due to the fact it was so highly praised in the planning officers report - lets all hope so

'Stop holding back our city'
by Kate Morrison

Business leaders have accused councillors of putting their political lives before the future of Brighton and Hove by turning down a major new development.

Writer and broadcaster Simon Fanshawe, chairman of the Brighton and Hove Economic Partnership, accuses members of the council's planning committee of "narrow- minded" decision making in an open letter in The Argus today.

Plans for a 420ft skyscraper at Brighton Marina that would have been the tallest building in Sussex were thrown out when nine of its members voted against it.

The tower was part of a £265 million development including 603 private flats, 395 affordable homes and a swing bridge linking the two arms of the Marina.

Mr Fanshawe said the "parochial" decision will damage Brighton and Hove's potential to attract investment and talent and is based on the councillors' own political interests.

He also warned it fails to address important issues such as affordable housing and the transport needs of the city.

He added: "The city vision of the administration and its partners is being undermined by those who refuse time and again to think about what will benefit the whole city and instead retire to their safety zone of the parochial."

Mr Fanshawe is speaking on behalf of the Partnership, which is made up of 38 individuals representing each sector of the city's economy.

Councillor Francis Tonks was one of the committee members who voted against the Marina scheme.

He said: "We are not narrow-minded and parochial but broad-minded and democratic.

"We are accountable to the city and its residents and that tower would be a luxury development for the rich."

Andrew Goodall, managing director of Brunswick Developments, which is behind the Marina project, said they would be appealing against the planning decision.

Simon Fanshawe could be a great leader for this city, he spearheaded the city status bid a few years back, he has a bold vision for our city and knows how it should develop, I would love to meet him.

[large]

Where abouts is Preston Barracks? Is it near the level?

I read that article from Simon Fanshawe. Couldn't agree more, our council are crap...look at the state of the seafront, the band stand, the West Pier etc.

[RSWB]

preston barracks is just up from the level, just past the Vogue gyratory.

Our council aren't altogether crap they have done well with parts of the seafront but maybe the problem is that its a hung council and conservatives usually go against labour and vice versa causing mayhem in the planning process.