The 'Growing places' Breakfast with Martyn Evans, Creative Director at Cathedral Group

Review by Carina Macolan, BohoGreen - Sustainable development consultancy specialising in the built environment, lifestyles and electric vehicle design and production
 
"I attended the Chamber breakfast on Friday 27th September as a new member and specifically to listen to the presentation from Martyn Evans, Creative Director at the Cathedral Group who are the brains and brawn behind the proposed new Circus Street development in Brighton.  
 
Being part of the local property development market myself I was particularly interested in hearing about their engagement with the local community in coming up with a design which met the development brief whilst being sympathetic to the concerns of local interested parties. In a city which boasts a plethora of architectural styles, satisfying the desires of everyone can be a challenge, but one it appears that the Cathedral Group have relished and excelled at.  
 
Martyn observed that Brighton has very energised people who like to get involved in place making and voicing their opinions and ideas, something which he and his team have embraced. By focusing on looking outwards and being inclusive, the Cathedral Group have created a cohesive design which satisfies the local community whilst achieving its economic development objectives.
 
The former bustling fruit and veg market holds a huge amount of potential for our city and has been waiting patiently for the right design team to give it a new lease of life. Badly hit by the downturn in the economic market, plans for the site had grinded to a halt. Martyn’s team have now given it a new lease of life and are set for full steam ahead on pulling this project out of the ground.
 
Our city is vibrant and ever evolving with influxes of people wishing to experience it for themselves. The brief for the Circus Street site was to try and mirror the character and aesthetic of the North Laine, undoubtedly our most successful asset with its rich and diverse collection of shops, cafes, entertainment venues and residential housing, all within a rather small area. The Circus Street plans not only meet the above criteria but also expand on this by providing a Dance School and two public squares.
 
The Cathedral Group seeks to gain a competitive advantage by finding places where no one else wants to build and making them work. I commend them on this courageous strategy as Brighton and Hove does have its own unique development challenges and it takes perseverance and truly believing in what you’re building to get it right especially if you’re not a development giant with funding on tap.
 
These are exciting times for our City as we start to see the cogs turn once again on some large and impressive build projects which will drive Brighton & Hove forward for current and future generations to work, live and learn in. From the Open Market and Co-op sites on London Road to Circus Street and then kicking off the Shoreham Port redevelopment plan with our proposed PortZED scheme, Brighton & Hove and its community should certainly feel proud of its ability to regenerate and inspire growth.
 
Martyn provided a thoroughly engaging and entertaining synopsis of the Circus Street project from inception to date whilst throwing in some personal humour regarding his career and passions including the Burning Man festival in the Nevada Desert compared with village life in Wales!  I hope to hear from Martyn again on the scheme’s build progress early next year and can’t wait for its completion when I can tread new paths and immerse myself in a new vibrant area of our city."

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