Major Developments June 2015: the stories behind the latest developments in the city

On Tuesday 30th June Brighton Chamber laid the foundations for an unmissable discussion of some of the most high-profile construction schemes in the city at the first in a brand new series of events.

The launch event for Major Developments, held at Brighton Dome, was sold-out on a hot summer’s evening – testament to the huge level of interest from the business community in the way these major changes to the landscape will shape our city’s future.

The event focused on three projects: the Brighton i360, Preston Barracks and Black Rock. Chamber members and guests were given the inside track on how these schemes will affect the city – and therefore its businesses - by Eleanor Harris, Chief Executive at Brighton i360; Rob Sloper, Projects Director at Cathedral Group; and Nick Hibberd, Head of City Regeneration at Brighton and Hove City Council.

Chairing proceedings was Julia Chanteray of The Joy of Business, who invited each panel member to speak in turn, with questions from the audience at the end of each presentation. 

Eleanor Harris – The Brighton i360

Chief Executive of the i360 Eleanor Harris spoke about the way in which the project will create a unique landmark. The tower, at the site of the old West Pier, will be 162m high, making it the world’s tallest moving observation tower, and Eleanor revealed that they had already ‘filled in the paperwork’ for submission to the Guinness Book of World Records, as the world’s slimmest tall tower. 

Eleanor also spoke about the financial boost that the project – which is a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) - will bring to the city, telling Chamber members and guests that she is expecting 700,000 to 800,000 people a year to pay to ride on the i360 and 2 million people to come into the beach building. She added later that it was estimated the attraction would bring an extra 350,000 visitors into the city every year.

In addition to the commercial rewards, Eleanor noted that the council ‘are expected to profit to the tune of about a million a year’ thanks to profit on the interest from the loan it is providing to the i360 via the Public Works Loan Board.
Eleanor said the first batch of the tower’s “cans” being manoeuvred into place had been ‘an amazing bit of theatre’, and that the building ‘will start getting up to 64m by the end of the week.’

The beach building at the foot of the tower, which will cover an area of about 1500 square metres. The i360 will have plenty of opportunities for local businesses, according to Eleanor. ‘We have a policy of putting all our tenders out locally’, she explained, ‘and have a growing army of talented local companies supplying us.’

Eleanor then emphasised the way in which the i360 has been a draw for visitors from the outset - even ‘becoming a visitor attraction during the build’, with crowds of people cheering during the big crane lifts and thousands watching the web cam - and would continue to benefit Brighton once it is open to visitors. ‘All of the profits we make as a business for around the first twenty years will come back to the city,’ she added. 

Taking questions from the audience, Eleanor responded to a query about how quality restaurants would be secured for the seafront. ‘We have actually signed a deal with a catering company already.’ she said, ‘They have put in an investment of over a million pounds.’ Eleanor revealed that there would be a tea room, a seaside café and a brasserie based around local produce, adding ‘I think there’s an opportunity on the seafront to do something really good.’

When asked about timescales, Eleanor said they are on track to open next July; hoping to open the vertical cable car as early as May or June with the beach building following. Eleanor said that tickets will be £15.00 for an adult ticket, or £13.50 bought online in advance, and half price for local residents of Brighton and Hove. The whole visitor experience will last about an hour and she also mentioned that there are ‘tactical promotions’ planned for the attraction.

Asked whether the architects were going to stay involved, Eleanor said that husband and wife team David Marks and Julia Barfield are directors and shareholders of the business. Eleanor added that she has a good working relationship with them, which goes back fifteen years, and that they are ‘very hands-on.’

Rob Sloper – Preston Barracks

Rob Sloper, Projects Director at developers Cathedral Group, explained that the regeneration of the Preston Barracks site will be delivered by Cathedral Group in partnership with the University of Brighton and Brighton and Hove City Council.

Rob described the Preston Barracks site in Moulsecoomb as a ‘catalyst for social and economic regeneration of the area’, with an overall ambition to create a vibrant, successful and sustainable new place. 

The mixed-use development will include student accommodation, academic buildings for Brighton University, new homes and retail space, as well as the Central Research Laboratory, a commercial building intended for start-up businesses, with a particular focus on the digital manufacturing industry. Rob said that it is hoped the scheme would create up to 1435 new jobs, and the project partners are looking at ‘creating something special here.’

The University of Brighton shares Cathedral Group’s interest in regenerating the area, with the hope that the project will start to forge even greater links between town and gown.

Rob emphasised the importance of the Central Research Laboratory, which could become a ‘jobs factory’ for the city, acting as a place for inventors, entrepreneurs and creative minds alike. The 50,000sqft CRL will act as an enterprise hub, providing business talent flexible workshops, access to prototyping equipment and business support. 

After referring to the achievements of the Circus Street development, which is also one of Cathedral Group’s projects, Rob went on to describe the plan of action for ‘creating a sustainable and prosperous new place at Preston Barracks which contribute positively to the existing Moulsecoomb community.’

The audience was told about ten-foot high posters of local people who are makers, which can be found around the edge of the site. ‘We want them to help us build a community’, Rob explained. He added that a website and Twitter site has also been created to create a dialogue about the project.

Taking questions from attendees, Rob was asked about the current status of the project, answering, ‘We are now working out the planning application with a view to submitting early next year.’

There was a suggestion that the site needed to be made more accessible, and to become a “destination” site, with facilities such as a swimming pool, doctor’s surgery or crèche, while the possibility of relocating the railway station was also raised. Rob responded that the project was at the early consultation stage, that the Preston Barracks team welcome feedback on how to most successfully shape the new place they are creating. 

Rob also clarified that Preston Barracks and Circus Street are entirely separate projects, although he is overseeing both. He added that the first completions for Circus Street should be in Spring – Summer 2017.

When asked how businesses could get involved in the process, Rob mentioned people could use the website and Twitter link referenced on the boarding to register their interest, saying that the publicity for the project is ‘a bit of a teaser campaign’ at the moment. He added that there would be the opportunity for people to come up to the site and talk to Cathedral Group about the development during the start of the consultation period. 

There was a suggestion that Preston Barracks could be used as a company’s office building instead, but Rob responded that the planning rules would have to be adhered to and the development is to be for mixed use.

Nick Hibberd – Black Rock

As Head of City Regeneration at Brighton and Hove City Council, Nick Hibberd started by saying that he has ‘possibly one of the most exciting jobs in the city.’ 

The Black Rock project is part of the larger £540 million plan for regeneration in the city referred to as “The Waterfront”, which according to Nick is ‘one of the biggest projects that the city council has ever been involved in.’

Nick also mentioned the numerous other development projects that are gathering pace across the city, from Shoreham Harbour in the west to Saltdean Lido in the east.

Nick said he felt that the seafront is ‘the real shopfront’ for Brighton and Hove, and the proposed conferencing centre on the Black Rock site near the Marina would ‘secure the future of conferencing and events in the city’.

The project would involve the extension of Churchill Square shopping centre all the way down to the seafront, while the new conferencing centre itself would have a capacity of 10,000, or 8,000 fully seated. The venue would be able to ‘flex’ to accommodate very large events and smaller numbers.

The development would also provide 450 new homes – some of which will be affordable housing - in an area of Brighton that is, in Nick’s view, a ‘key gateway to the city.’

Nick added that the development would allow the city to improve its retail offer, and would also create jobs. It is hoped that negotiation of a development agreement with project partners Standard Life Investments and Venue Ventures will come at the end of this year.

Responding to questions from the audience, Nick addressed the issue of traffic should Churchill Square shopping centre be extended. ‘”How can we keep the city moving?” is always at the forefront of our minds,’ he said. He added that the council would be speaking to local businesses and local residents to ‘make sure we get that right.’

Nick was also asked about the council’s commitment to renewable energy in relation to this project, and he replied that of the new affordable homes that would form part of the development, almost all of them would have some sort of solar PV system.

The effect of the new development on hoteliers based at the seafront was also raised, and Nick replied that the council is working with the Tourism Advisory Board to ‘ensure hoteliers make the most of this development.’

The incorporation of the arches on the seafront into the Black Rock development was suggested; however Nick said this would not be easy, as there would not be a return on investment.

Workshop session

After hearing from the people at the heart of these three major developments, Chamber members and guests were encouraged to get creative with the ideas they’d heard as part of a workshop run by Nick Price from Of Things Immaterial. He asked groups of attendees to pick one of the developments and work through the possible implications, considering the business opportunities, but also looking at the impact on communities.

Thanks to Ros Branagan for writing up the event and to Lauren Psyk for taking the photographs. To find out more about Major Developments, get in touch at office@businessinbrighton.org.uk. 

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