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Newsletter 218 - January 2007

In this issue:

• Happy New Year!
• Anyone for Easter?
• Some Success with Trade Refuse
• Subscription time
• Members' Concert Offer
• Chaos in North Street
• Advance notice of the AGM
• The little things that make a difference
• What's in the i360 for the locals?
• The Brighton Eye and the Public P
• You can set your watch by it
• But is it just pie in the sky?
• The Bigger Picture
• Two Talks

Happy New Year!

The Society welcomed the New Year with breakfast at the Regency Restaurant. It was a sunny new year's morning and about twenty members and guests gathered round the long table to enjoy eggs, bacon, toast and coffee. Many thanks to Emilio and his staff for making us all so welcome.

Anyone for Easter?

A number of members have suggested that we should meet for breakfast more often. So we are planning another get-together for Easter Monday. Further details nearer the time.

Some Success with Trade Refuse

Following our complaints about local businesses storing their rubbish on the pavements the Council's enforcement officer has been visiting premises in our area.

The Council are encouraging businesses to "containerise" their refuse - in other words store it in a bin - rather than simply put bags on the pavement where the seagulls can get at them. Where there is no alternative, businesses are allowed to store their bins on the pavement as long as they are kept clean. Glass re-cycling bins must be locked.

We queried a number of locations where bins are kept on the pavement and these are the Council's responses:

• Regency Tavern: the bins are clean and do not block the public highway so they can remain in place but the glass bin must be locked.
• The Pull and Pump: the bins are kept on private property and the wheels are locked to stop them being moved.
• The Prince of Wales: again the bins are on private property; the Council is working with the owners to stop fly tipping around them.
• The Esca Bar in Preston Street: the Council is taking enforcement action against this business whose bins block the pavement.
• The Fish and Chip shop on the corner of Queensbury Mews: the bin which was previously left on the pavement is now stored on private property.
• Castle Street and Stone Street: the enforcement team are encouraging businesses to use smaller bins and increase the frequency of collections. The aim is for less bins to be stored in the streets.

So the Council is trying to improve the situation, but their policy does seem to be that we will have to put up with trade refuse bins on the pavement in some places.

Is that acceptable or should more effort be made to find off-street storage? Let us know what you think.

Subscription time

Membership subs. are due in February. Unless you have already paid you should find a renewal form in the envelope with your newsletter. Please help the Society by renewing as soon as you can.

Members' Concert Offer

Once again we have been offered discounted tickets for the London Philharmonic Orchestra concerts at the Dome. The next two concerts are:

Wednesday 7 February 2007 | 7.30pm
Barber Symphony 1
Bruch Violin Concerto 2 in D minor
Beethoven Symphony 5 in C minor

Thursday 22 March 2007 | 7.30pm
Schubert Symphony 8 in B minor (Unfinished)
Saint-Saëns Cello Concerto 1 in A minor
Sibelius Symphony 1 in E minor

You can book tickets by calling the box office on 01273 709709 and asking for the "Regency Square offer" (£1.85 transaction fee). Alternatively you can buy tickets by post or in person with a copy of the booking form, which you can get by emailing or phoning Roger Hinton.

Chaos in North Street

Traffic diversions in North Street started on 8 January and will continue for between 34 and 44 weeks. The reason is that water and gas pipes are being renewed - 4 km of them in all! Another interesting statistic is that normally North Street is used by 200 buses an hour! So this project will cause a lot of disruption. If you want more information, call Southern Water on 0845 278 0845.

Advance notice of the AGM

The Society's next AGM will be held in the Sandringham Room at the Hilton Metropole Hotel at 7:30pm on Wednesday 21 March 2007. More details next month.

The committee is always keen for new members to get involved in helping to run the Society. No particular qualifications are required except an interest in the area and a few spare hours a month. If you are interested, contact the chairman, Roger Hinton.

The little things that make a difference

Streetlights and flowerbeds are not particularly exciting but that?s no reason for not looking after them.

Following our report to the Council, one street light in Regency Square has been fixed. Two more are also being dealt with but will take a bit longer. Action is also being taken to repair another light which never goes off, even in broad daylight.

Meanwhile the faulty light in Clarence Gardens which we reported in the previous newsletter is still not working!

We are concerned about the small areas of garden at the sides of Regency Square between the lower and the middle greens. People heading for the car park steps often walk through them rather than along the nearby pathway. We have asked the Council to look at the possibility of fencing them in some way to protect the plants.

What's in the i360 for the locals?

The planning approval granted by the Council for the i360 development on the West Pier site includes 56 detailed conditions and a document known as the "section 106 agreement". This sets out payments which the developer must make to cover the Council's costs for things such as:

• Subway lighting (£10,000)
• Public Transport (£10,000)
• Traffic regulations to prevent parking in the lay-by in front of the development and to provide disabled parking bays in Kings Road (£2,000)
• Pedestrian signage within 1 mile of the site (£5,000)
• Vehicular signage to direct traffic through the city to the development (£50,000)

In addition, the agreement also requires an annual payment to the Council of 1% of net ticket revenues. This will be used for environmental renewal, maintenance and improvement works such as landscaping, re-instatement of public structures and ecological interpretation and display boards.

We are hoping that some of this ticket revenue contribution will result in environmental improvements in Regency Square and we have approached the Council to ensure that the Society is included in consultations.

You can see the full details of the planning conditions and section 106 agreement on the Council web site by putting the application number BH2006/02369 into the planning register (www.brighton-hove.gov.uk).

The Brighton Eye and the Public P

Public toilets in the Regency Square area have never been up to much. There used to be a fairly disgusting one in the underground car park. Now there is an ugly temporary structure near the bike repair shop under the pier.

Condition 48 of the i360 planning approval requires toilet facilities within the development to be available for public use. This doesn't necessarily mean they will be free, but the public cannot be charged any more for using them than the i360's paying customers.

You can set your watch by it

One suggestion for an improvement in Regency Square is the creation of a sundial using the i360's shadow. This idea has generated quite a bit of interest. Local Councillor Roy Pennington has published illustrations on his web site showing how the shadow would fall at different times of day. These suggest that the sundial time markings may need to be across the bottom of the square, in the pavement to the south of the war memorial.

But is it just pie in the sky?

Famously described by one enthusiast as a doughnut, the i360 could just end up like other pieces of West Pier - pie in the sky.

Although the Council has given planning approval, the Government must also have its say and this is taking longer than expected, giving rise to fears that the start of the development may be delayed, or may never happen.

The Bigger Picture

The Council has published a consultation document setting out its views about how the city should develop over the next twenty years.

Needless to say, it is strong on generalities and weak on detail. However, it does identify the area round the Brighton Centre as suitable for high-density use, including tall buildings. It also identifies the West Pier site as a priority for tourist development.

The Society has a copy of the document. If you would like to see it please contact Roger Hinton.

Two Talks

The Kingscliffe Society has organised two illustrated talks which our members are welcome to attend:

Some Buildings of Brighton over the past 20 years
by Malcolm Dawes - 3pm to 5pm Sunday 21 January

The Inns & Taverns of Old Brighton
by Geoff Mead - 3pm to 5pm Sunday 18 February

Both will be at Hampshire Lodge, Hampshire Court, Upper St James Street (access from Lavender St and Bedford St). Admission £2 including tea and biscuits.

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