Restoring the spirit of excess
What was once stunning and innovative has for too long been rusty and neglected. Cllr Birgit Miller explains how the Council is breathing new life into our seafront architecture
Most residents of Brighton and Hove have their‘ own’ bit of seafront, that bit they know and love, a spot which gives them a sense of a homecoming. When I was given responsibility for the seafront as a member of the city’ s cabinet, I already knew that Brighton and Hove has an iconic seafront, as do all who live or work here. But the seafront is far more complex, challenging and exciting than I’ d realised; it spans an extraordinary range of coastal areas.
It includes the coastal villages of Saltdean and Rottingdean, the marina, and a variety of beautiful historic architecture all the way from Kemptown to Portslade, which has a working harbour too. East and west of the pier, we even have two seafronts. At beach level, Madeira Terraces to the Peace statue offers the classic British seaside experience, in complete contrast to the elegant Georgian, Regency and Victorian architecture which overlooks the promenade.
While West Hove is famous for its beach huts, they also line much of the eastern seafront, all the way to Saltdean, which now has another 14 new zero-maintenance huts. Our seafront is home to many sports facilities, ranging from the city centre seafront basketball court, recently refurbished by our administration, to the new but already very busy Hove Beach Park. A busy seafront also needs toilets; our administration has opened new facilities at Hove Beach Park and refurbished the Ovingdean Beach toilets.
Not content with stunning architecture, our innovative Victorian predecessors decorated the seafront with beautiful cast iron structures: arches, railings and shelters. This was absolutely in keeping with the spirit of the Royal Pavilion, which has always been a perfect refutation of the maxim,‘ Less is more’.
However, that delightful spirit of excess and innovation has also gifted us 126 rusty Madeira Terraces arches, 6 km of rusty seafront railings, 19 rusty seafront shelters and 84 rusty seafront heritage lanterns. Cast iron may be unsuitable for seafront structures but their beauty and importance is such that restoration is essential.
Our administration is currently restoring 28 of the oldest Madeira Terraces arches and is about to take down the first five seafront heritage lanterns for repair and renewal. The task is immense, but possible. Eleven of Hove’ s‘ cucumber’ benches are being restored at no cost to the council through an innovative partnership with a major contractor, the Community Payback Scheme, and local builders’ merchants and paint suppliers, who have donated the materials.
One of our seafront’ s glories is surely how it encompasses most types of English urban coastline. This versatility produces another challenge, that of creating an overarching vision for the whole of the seafront. Just as we have begun the huge challenge of identifying funding for this seafront restoration, so we are determined to create one vision for the whole seafront, one which both ensures that there will always be something for everyone on our seafront, but also that there is a sense that every portion forms part of a greater whole.
This need for a unified vision is why we have created the Seafront Development Board. The Board is being chaired by Lord Bassam, who brings a deep understanding of the city as its first council leader, as well as knowledge of the challenges facing seaside communities as a former chair of the Select Committee on Regenerating Seaside Towns and Communities. The other board members bring a similar depth and breadth of knowledge and experience.
The Board, with the assistance of community groups and residents, is tasked with developing a vision which will guide our administration in shaping the future of our city’ s seafront. This is the start of a long process of restoration and innovation, in the spirit of the Regency and Victorian builders and engineers who followed in the footsteps of local women such as Martha Gunn. They all saw the amazing potential of the small village of Brighthelmstone and the new recreation of sea bathing. As the 250th anniversary of the Prince Regent’ s first visit and the start of his lifelong love affair with Brighton approaches in 2033, this is a generational opportunity to reimagine and reinvigorate our stunning seafront once again.
l Cllr Birgit Miller is Cabinet Member for Culture, Heritage and Tourism