Category: General

The Society is pleased to announce that the next AGM will take place at 7pm on Wednesday 12 April 2023. The venue will be the Hove Club, 28 Fourth Avenue, Hove.

As well as presenting the annual report for 2022, the agenda will include the election of trustees. If you would like to become one, please contact the honorary secretary. The meeting will be followed by

John Small Lecture: Wild & Busby Revisited

For details see the events page. Non-members are welcome.

Do you remember the Sackville Hotel?

 It was built in 1904 on the corner of Kingsway and Sackville Gardens, originally as a terrace of private houses.  It collapsed in 2006 and was demolished after being battered by strong winds.

The site then stood empty and unloved until 2016 when a developer proposed a 17-storey circular tower. The Regency Society was one of the many voices opposing this idea. Amongst our worries was the shape of the flats, – think of a slice of a circular pie!

The application was withdrawn and replaced with a more credible and down to earth plan for a block of sixty flats.  Although one member of the Planning Committee described the design as “a little bland” it was approved.

The Regency Society had commented that the building “made no attempt to turn the corner in an elegant manner.”  The final building’s curved corner is perhaps a suitable response.

What do you think of the result?

The Planning Forum, attended by members of the Regency Society and Hove Civic Society hovecivicsociety.org meets monthly to discuss planning applications which the Forum considers significant. Each society forms its own view on the applications and decides what action, if any, to take.

From Farm House to Superstore

At the top of Dyke Road Avenue there is a roundabout which provides access to the by-pass (A27).  Adjacent to the roundabout is a plot of land which for many years was the home of the Court Farm House.

The site was previously proposed for residential development, a scheme which the Regency Society supported. Permission was granted in 2017 but never implemented.

The latest proposal is for an Aldi Superstore with parking for 120 cars.  If you’re a driver and you want a convenient place to shop you may see this as a welcome development.  However, the application has attracted lots of adverse comment. Click OBJECTION TO PROPOSED ALDI SUPERSTORE AT COURT FARM to see what the store would look like and to read why the Regency Society is opposed to it.

 

The Plan for the Gas Works Site

Property developer, St William Homes has submitted a proposal for the site of the former Gas Works in Kemp Town.

If approved, it will result in 553 new homes in eleven tall buildings and several smaller ones, all located between Marine Gate to the east and Courcels to the west.  The scheme also includes new commercial properties.

The Regency Society is supportive of the principle of a residential development on this site, which has been a blot on the landscape for far too long. However, we cannot support this proposal.

Click Gas Works site objection 2-1-22 to read the comments we have submitted to the Planning Authority.

The Planning Forum, attended by members of the Regency Society and Hove Civic Society hovecivicsociety.org meets monthly to discuss planning applications which the Forum considers significant. Each society forms its own view on the applications and decides what action, if any, to take.

 

 What’s happening at the Gas Works?

The Society is monitoring closely the proposals for 700 new homes on the site of the old gas works in Kemp Town.  We are represented in Aghast, a coalition of local groups opposed to the development.

 

Smartening up the Old Steine café

The café at the south end of the Old Steine started life in 1926 as a tram shelter, built to a design by David Edwards, who at that time was the Borough Engineer. Later it became a public convenience.  It was in the 1990s that it became a café.

A planning application has been approved for various alterations. The aim is to create a more modern café environment. The building will be restored to remove unsympathetic additions and there will be much needed repairs to the flat roof and the windows.

The Regency Society welcomes this development which will return a historic, listed building to good condition and beneficial use while retaining its historic interest.

 

Flats in the Old Market

The planners are looking at a listed building in Hove, the Old Market in Upper Market Street.

An application has been submitted for alterations on the south side of the building to convert two floors of office space into four flats.

The proposed internal alterations are not radical and there is no removal of historic material.  There will only be one visible change to the exterior of the building: the installation of two windows on the southern façade, to match the four existing ones.

The scheme doesn’t seem to create any obvious harm to the listed building, and it will provide four new homes.

with thanks to David Sears and Paul Zara for taking the pictures.

 

Inside the Temple

This month brought a second planning application relating to the Girls school in Montpelier Road, this time dealing with the interior of Thomas Read Kemp’s fine building.

We applaud this application, which will restore the Temple to its rightful position as the focus of the school site.  Its entrance will become the principal entrance to the school, also providing an element of public access.

The Temple is very much a multi-period building, having been in a variety of educational uses for all but the first decade of its two centuries of existence. The current proposals will add another layer to its long history while revealing rather than obscuring it.

 

 

Another Addition at Brighton College

 

 The Regency Society has been supportive of the range of impressive new buildings that have arisen on the Brighton College campus in recent years and which complement the College’s existing listed buildings.

Their latest proposal is for a “Performing Arts Building” to replace three existing, but uninspiring buildings. Historic England was asked to comment on the new proposal. Their response commended the “high quality, innovative design” but suggested that it could appear “overbearing and dominating” from some viewpoints.

They go on the recommend “that the Local Authority explores with the applicant whether the less than substantial harm … can be minimised any further by reducing the scale of the building, so it is not visually dominant or overbearing within the close setting of the listed buildings.”

We believe that the Council’s planners should follow up on this advice and have contacted the Head of Planning to ask whether they will be doing so.

 

Another step forward for Saltdean Lido

 

 We were very pleased to see the latest proposals for the Saltdean Lido building, which, as this photo of the West wing shows, is in desperate need of repair. We have submitted a minor comment regarding the drawings of the proposed balcony infills, but generally we welcome this proposal which is an important step towards bringing the building back into use.

If approved the work will include repairs and alterations to the render, concrete and balustrading. The café will be enlarged and the flagpole and chimney will be reinstated. A new, “bespoke” spiral staircase will be installed in the enlarged café.

 

Good News in Cannon Place

 

 Permission was granted recently for a new hotel in Cannon Place, behind the Metropole Hotel.  As yet, there is no sign of work starting on this major new city-centre building.

However, the planning approval also included renovation of the listed facades of two bow front houses in Cannon Place and of the entrance to the former Newburgh Rooms in St Margaret’s Place.

We’re pleased to report that this restoration work has already been completed.  We now wait with fingers crossed to see how they will look once the new hotel has been constructed around them.

 

 

The Planning Forum, attended by members of the Regency Society and Hove Civic Society hovecivicsociety.org meets monthly to discuss planning applications which the Forum considers significant. Each society forms its own view on the applications and decides what action, if any, to take.

 

 

New owners and a new roof for the Hippodrome

The Brighton Hippodrome in Middle Street has been a sad sight in the heart of the Old Town Conservation Area for many years. Some years ago, after much debate, the Regency Society supported controversial plans to convert it to a multi-screen cinema. The plans were approved but never implemented.

Since then, the site has had various owners. Currently it is owned by Hove property development company, Matsim. They have applied for permission to carry out works to create a new roof, above the current one, which is leaking.

The future use of the site is undecided but work to protect the fabric of this Grade II* building is welcome.

Click here to see the Society's comments : Hippodrome comment May 2021

Worst Circus Street fears fulfilled?

The Regency Society spent much time reviewing the plans to develop the site of the former fruit and vegetable market in Circus Street when they were first revealed. We had useful discussions with the developer, but they failed to convince us that their plans would create the vibrant and sunny open spaces promised.

Several years later, the development is now almost finished and it is possible to walk through much of it.  We said that the buildings would be too tall and too close together, creating potential wind tunnels, seriously limiting the amount of sunlight and creating potential overlooking across the narrow spaces between.

If you have a chance, please take a look and tell us if you think we got it right. Or were too pessimistic?

An additional planning application has recently been approved for the site.  It is for a sculpture to be erected on one of the new buildings. The working title is “Dancing Staircase”: it will represent a spiral staircase which springs apart as it rises up the building: a nice touch of the absurd! The sculptor is Alex Chinnek.

 

Should Black Lion Street be grey?

The Regency Society supported a recent planning application for a bold new colour scheme for Moore House in Black Lion Street. The planners disagreed and refused permission on the grounds that the proposed colour scheme would harm the appearance and character of the Old Town Conservation Area and the settings of the neighbouring listed buildings.

A new application proposes a different colour scheme, matching the grey tiles on the Black Lion, which is next door.

 

 

The Planning Forum, attended by members of the Regency Society and Hove Civic Society hovecivicsociety.org meets monthly to discuss planning applications which the Forum considers significant. Each society forms its own view on the applications and decides what action, if any, to take.

 

Of Trees and Green Spaces

The Peacock Industrial Estate in Davigdor Road is the location for a lot of new development at present.  The latest plan is for a three-storey office block on a plot of land in front of P&H House.

The land is currently a green space with several trees.  We are objecting to the proposed development on the grounds of the loss of green space.  We have also suggested that a master plan should ne prepared for the whole area before any more new development is considered.

 

Architectural Illiteracy in Ship Street

 If you have ever eaten in the Ivy in Ship Street you may recognise the original features illustrated in our first image. They serve to separate the front and back of house areas of the restaurant.  The second illustration shows what will be left of them if the proposed changes go ahead.

The most striking feature is the central archway. To leave the arch with its keystone, which is intended to appear loadbearing, without visible means of support would be architectural illiteracy.

Fortunately, the planners have taken a similar view and the application has been refused on the grounds of harm to the architectural and historic interest of the listed building

 

Making Space Under the Eaves

 The Queens Park Tennis Club needs more space. Their club house is not quite big enough. However, its roof is bigger than its footprint, so they are proposing to create more space by “infilling” under the eaves.  The new space will provide storage, a seating area and a new disabled WC. A neat solution, which the planners have now approved!

 

A chapel on the move

A huge re-development project is currently underway at the Royal Sussex County Hospital.  As a result, some historic features will be removed, such as the Barry Building which formed its original entrance and presented an impressive view when looking north up Paston Place.

However, not all will be lost. Thanks to an intervention from English Heritage (as it was then known) the planning permission included a condition requiring the removal and storage of the hospital’s fine chapel. The permission is about to expire so a new application has been made to renew it.  This is welcome, but what is not clear is whether, when and where the chapel will be re-constructed.

Click here to see a view of the chapel interior.

 

132 Kings Road

 BH2021/00852 | Erection of a four storey extension onto existing building to form 2no additional self-contained flats, and associated extensions to existing floors. Revised fenestration and associated works. | 132 Kings Road Brighton BN1 2HH

The Regency Society most strongly objects to this application. 132 Kings Road is a heritage asset which warrants at least local listing. The proposals would be highly detrimental to its architectural and historical interest, internally as well as externally.  They would have a severely adverse effect on the character of the Regency Square Conservation Area and on the settings of the adjoining Grade II* St Albans House and locally listed Astra House, of the Grade II* Regency Square and of the Grade II South African War Memorial and the Shelter on the promenade opposite.

The Heritage Statement is a travesty. 132 Kings Road is not as claimed just an “infill building” but the remaining half of a matching pair of late 1790s villas. It is the only survivor of the 18th century buildings between Preston Street and Regency Square and the oldest standing building in Kings Road, older than any of the listed buildings.

The site of 132 and 133 was conveyed in 1793 and is marked as Belle Vue on Cobby’s map of 1799. The Grade II* listed 131 was developed in 1828-30 by Amon Henry Wilds for the Duke of St Albans, two storeys taller than 132. No 134, Regency House, was a storey taller than 132-3. With 133, it was then redeveloped in the later 1870s as the New Club, of greater height than St Albans House. The New Club was redeveloped in 1938 as the locally listed Astra House.

The actual auditorium where the “first film show in the UK outside London was held” in 1896 is not within the original building of 132 but behind it in the area outlined in blue on the location and block plans, outside the area of the application. The auditorium is preserved among, as the Design and Access Statement says, the “industrially styled warehouse roofed buildings (Formally [sic] a dance hall or theatre”. The cinema was mainly used as a theatre from 1955.

The Heritage Statement claims that “Following the closure [of the cinema] the building started its adaptation into residential use on all floors above the Art Deco style projecting first floor level”. Residential use of all the upper floors, including the first, appears in fact to have been continuous. The as-existing plans indicate that the original domestic configuration of all the upper storeys has remained substantially intact.

The inter-war excrescence on the first floor was designed for residential use, with multi-pane timber sash windows. To describe its current utilitarian appearance as Art Deco style requires a considerable stretch of the imagination.

The central Brighton seafront has long been characterised by abrupt variations in height, evidence of its historical development. The modest scale of Belle Vue, built during the uncertainties of the French Revolutionary Wars, contrasts with the ambition of St Albans House, built in the peaceful years after the end of the Napoleonic Wars. 132 and 133 were originally brick faced but were modernised with stucco to match St Albans. A century later, Astra House was characteristic of the inter-war development of Brighton and Hove.

Two additional residential units would be a paltry public benefit for the damage to the City’s heritage from doubling the height of a currently unlisted building of merit in a conservation area which forms part if the setting of Grade II and II* listed buildings.

 

The Planning Forum, attended by members of the Regency Society and Hove Civic Society hovecivicsociety.org meets monthly to discuss planning applications which the Forum considers significant. Each society forms its own view on the applications and decides what action, if any, to take.

Big changes for Brighton Girls

“Brighton Girls” is the new name for what many will know as the Girls High School in Montpelier Road.  It is not only the name that is changing: a planning application is currently being considered which, if approved, will enable some notable changes to the site.

The most significant is probably the move of girls in the Pre-Prep and Prep Schools to the main site from their current premises in Radinden Manor Road.  The sports ground is expected to stay at Radinden Manor Road.  We don’t know the future plans for the buildings there.

Other changes will remove parking from in front of the Temple (Grade II listed), the original house built by Thomas Read Kemp (creator of Kemp Town), who lived there for several years from 1819.  The main gates leading to the front door of the Temple will become pedestrian only.

The application also covers the introduction of substantial areas of new landscaping and biodiversity enhancements.

The Society welcomes these proposed developments. Click here to read the full comments we have submitted to the Council.

Comment on Brighton Girls Application

A better-looking gap

At the point where Denmark Villas becomes Cromwell Road there are two large 19^th century houses, typical of the area. Neither is a particularly well-preserved example of their type. However, the street-scene is much more degraded by the ugly gap between them, currently occupied by a garage and two parking bays.

The proposal is to demolish the garage and replace it with a tightly planned, two-bedroom house with lower and ground floors. It has been designed to appear to be a service wing to 58 Denmark Villas, to its left.

The result would be a distinct improvement both visually and in terms of the use of space.  We are supporting it.

What about the Walkers?

46-50 Kings Road is a restaurant on the seafront just east of the junction with Middle Street. Like many businesses in the area it has outdoor seating, which, in this case takes up more than half the footway. To make matters worse, two on-pavement parking bays have been created alongside.  The result is a very narrow section of a busy footway.

Our attention was drawn to this slap in the face for pedestrians by a planning application to allow for glazed screening around the restaurant’s outdoor seating. We have no objection to the screening, but we believe that the parking bays should be removed to increase space for pedestrians.  So, we are objecting to the application, arguing that it should only be allowed if the parking bays are removed.

Denman Month

We seem to be focussing very much this month on the Denman family’s architectural contributions to our city.  David Robson is presenting two talks on the subject, meanwhile the Planning Forum has been looking at proposed changes to one of John Leopold Denman’s major buildings in central Brighton.

It is the Grade II listed, “Allied Irish Bank”, located in Marlborough Place. It first opened its doors as the Citizens’ Permanent Building Society in the 1930s.  The proposal now is to create three new apartments within the building, in addition to two which were approved in 2020.

No changes are proposed to the street elevation. The changes to the rear elevation will, with one exception, improve the building’s appearance. The exception is the introduction of an extract duct across the flat roofs from the ground floor restaurant. This duct has been assessed for predicted noise generation by the applicant and found to be satisfactory for a city centre site.  The removal of the existing metal fire escape and some of the cooling units is welcomed.

The ground floor use will be changed to a “restaurant”, but this will not require planning permission since it comes with the same use class as the previous bank.

If you look closely you will see a stone relief carving of John Leopold Denman in one of the arches of the street elevation.

We welcome the ‘recycling’ of this fine building.

The Planning Forum, attended by members of the Regency Society and Hove Civic Society hovecivicsociety.org meets monthly to discuss planning applications which the Forum considers significant. Each society forms its own view on the applications and decides what action, if any, to take.