Plans for enabling works for one of Brighton’s most ambitious developments are due to be revealed next month.
The works, by Brighton Marina, will form the first phase of a £540 million scheme that was first announced in 2014.
The scheme involves knocking down the Brighton Centre, extending Churchill Square to the seafront and building a new 10,000-seat arena and conference centre at Black Rock.
After years of complex negotiations with the owners of Churchill Square, Aberdeen Standard Investments, the first planning application is due to be submitted at the end of October.
A report to a Brighton and Hove City Council committee said: “This will include a sustainable transport link in and out of the Marina that will run under the ramp access and ‘de-risking’ and decontamination works for the Black Rock site.
“An extension of the sea wall to facilitate this is also included.
“Visioning work for the eastern seafront, working with LUC as landscape architects, has also started and this will form part of the planning application.”
The report, to the council’s new Tourism, Equalities, Communities and Culture (TECC) Committee, said that the pre-planning process was complete for the enabling works.
And the application is due to be submitted by the end of next month, with the aim of planning permission being decided in January.
The project faces time pressure because work on site needs to start by next March to meet the terms of the funding agreement with the Coast to Capital Local Enterprise Partnership.
If planning permission is granted, work should start next March and be completed 12 months later.
Plans for the Brighton Centre and the new Black Rock conference centre will follow, with the work at the Marina end due to be carried out first.
The final phase – extending Churchill Square to the seafront – will result in a new seafront-facing “retail and leisure” centre.
Details of the Waterfront scheme form part of a major projects update to the TECC Committee at Hove Town Hall on Thursday (26 September). The meeting is scheduled to start at 4pm and should be open to the public.
This is all very exciting.
Like any major development, these initial plans may not get everything perfect first time. But I do hope everyone gets behind the idea and positively and constructively helps sort out any concerns to make this development happen.
We do need a modern conference centre, but there are a lot of issues to be decided first including public transport.
Still not sure about the expansion of the Brighton Centre though. The high street is dead, major dept stores are failing as well as smaller shops. There is going to be a lot of space to fil.
The expansion will include Residential as well as Commercial.
The current proposal to close off Madeira Drive at The Palace Pier should be revisited as 10,000 people trying to gain access or exit via Dukes Mound will cause chaos.
That is why a Larger roundabout like the one in the 50s at the Palace pier is in my opinion a better option than traffic lights.
Also The Building of the Conference and Entertainment Centre will revitalise the Madeira Terraces with proposed outlets reaping the benefits,or are The owners of the Marina going to stifle the renovation project?
There used to be a Bus which I think was a 37 going from Hove Station and stopping at Brighton Station.I am sure Brighton and Hove Buses will accomodate.
The real shame was the closing of Kemp Town Railway station which would have solved a lot of transport problems.
I would still like to see the tunnel reopened as a pedestrian and cycle route like in Bath though.
It’s ok building another conference centre but how about building the ice rink that you keep saying we can have
yes what did happen to those ice rink plans???
“The report, to the council’s new Tourism, Equalities, Communities and Culture (TECC) Committee, said that the pre-planning process was complete for the enabling works.”
A real statement, or a line from W1A? See if you can guess.