Plans to restore Brighton’s “jewel in the crown” received unanimous support from councillors as they approved plans for Madeira Terrace.
Brighton and Hove City Council’s Planning Committee voted unanimously to grant planning permission for the £7 million first phase of repairs to 40 of the grade II* listed arches today (Wednesday 2 November).
The plans include a new additional lift, general repairs and upgrades to the existing Shelter Hall lift (within the Concorde 2), a new staircase from the deck to Madeira Drive and landscaping.
Construction work is now slated to start next autumn.
Labour councillor Daniel Yates asked for confirmation that the new lifts will be available 24 hours a day and a maintenance plan is included in the conditions to ensure wheelchair users and people with mobility issues can access the beach at all times.
The new lift will be available 24 hours a day with lighting, and the refurbished shelter hall lift will not require operators.
Councillor Yates said: “Madeira Terrace is the jewel in the crown of the city, more so than the Pavilion, because it is somewhere more of the city has access to, and more of the city demands we do something about, more than any other thing apart from sorting the bins out.
“It is a running joke the failures of this city to invest in its seafront architecture.
“Just days after another bit of the West Pier collapsed into the sea, the last thing people want to see is our horizontal pier collapsing as it’s been at risk of doing for many years.
“The nature of this as an amenity improvement for the city cannot be underestimated. Whatever proposal comes forward for this space, it is critical space, critical infrastructure, and in terms of design, meets an awful lot of the needs of the city.”
Green councillor Marianna Ebel said she liked the designs as the arches reflected the existing structures and opened the area for more flexible use.
She said: “At the moment, the middle layer is not used for safety reasons. It’s going to be a fantastic place for performances, and under the arches, there’ll be a lot you can do there, like pop-up stores.
“It’s a fantastic improvement. I often walk along there, and walking up those stairs is pretty hard. An additional lift will make this area much more accessible for wheelchair users and people with small children, the elderly and anyone who is not fit enough to walk up the stairs.”
Independent councillor Nick Childs, whose Queen’s Park ward includes part of the terraces, asked why the new lift did not reflect the existing shelter hall design.
He was told the clear top and simple design were created so as not to detract from the more intricate shelter hall lift.
Councillor Childs said: “It’s great this has come before us and action is finally being taken on what has become a bit of an embarrassment for the city along with the King Alfred situation as well.
“I don’t like the lift. I think it is rather dull and out of keeping with the architecture but the overall benefits of the application really outweigh this. It’s crucial this area is regenerated.”
Green councillor Leo Littman, who chairs the Planning Committee, said that he was delighted to support the application after following the process for “a long time”.
He said: “We have seen various ideas come and go and I think this is by far the best we have seen.
“It manages to retain everything that is so iconic about what’s there and yet brings it absolutely up to date into the 21st century and provides accessibility.”
Before restoring all 151 arches in the Victorian structure, future planning applications are necessary.
Twenty-two car-parking spaces will make way for new planted verges, a pedestrian crossing, cycle parking and drainage.
Seating is included on the deck level, and the plans also include protection of the Green Wall.
Electricity and drainage will also be provided to support events in the area.
Good Article
one of the most boring debates ever = the brown lift shaft was denigrated and yet approved =
Madness…. Spending money on a historic seafront tourist attraction that can bring visitors to the city for generations and boost the revenue for local business. What are we thinking, why aren’t we instead spending it on making one lane of the M23 a permanent cycle lane or maybe some dedicated planters on key commuter routes?
Hang on a minute here.
Did I just read that the work supposedly starts ‘next autumn’.
Weren’t we told, until fairly recently, that the work was due to start THIS autumn?
So they have kicked this down the road again, with a further delay.
Note that this new promised start date is also after next year’s council elections.
BORING MEETING = EVEN SOME CLLRS SAID THE BROWN LIFT SHAFT WAS BORING
Phelim and the ship of fools fumble the ball, yet again.
Never going to happen. It’s always a year away. Stop insulting us.
I agree 100% with Van Diesel. It’s the job of a council – any council – to maintain it’s territory, be it town, city or whatever Brighton has become.
The bins get emptied – most of the time – but as far as I can see, that’s the ONLY essential job getting done under these bike-obsessed shysters.
The public pays through the nose for heritage sites and infrastructure to be maintained, but it’s not happening.
Madeira Drive, the Steine fountain. Buildings of historic interest demolished to make way for ugly boxes said to be “student flats”. Where are all these students coming from anyway? Has the university expanded tenfold or more when nobody was looking?
Many pavements are impassable. Roads are full of potholes. I don’t know how many years it’s been since I last saw a road sweeper, human or mechanical.
It seems to me that the council takes the money and banks it, letting it build up over the years while the place goes the way of the West pier.
(better not suggest anything improper going on)
I wonder how long it will be before the “royal” pavilion is allowed to fall down and the land sold off for yet more “student” boxes.
The people are having to pay for services they’re not getting, and haven’t been getting for a very long time. In an ordinary business situation that would be called fraud and extortion, what many might call a protection racket.
100% Agree 👍
That metal panelling looks like it will streak after the sea breeze and rain have their say.
Hopefully it’s not the flammable kind like Grenfell.
Looks good apart from that lift that sticks out like a sore thumb but it will help prams and disabled, and I don’t want to see any shops under those arches, just leave them open for uninterrupted strolling.
Been closed ten years already and we have to wait yet another year for construction work to begin to 40 out of the total 150 arches. We’ll be lucky if they finish restoring them 20 years after they closed them down.