Right here, right now, there’s going to be a pirate ship!

The Big Beach Café, at Hove Lagoon, has bought a new piece of play equipment for the Hove Lagoon playground. A large wooden pirate ship has been installed and is ready to play on in time for the school summer holidays.

The Big Beach Cafe was opened in May 2013 and is owned by Norman Cook aka Fat Boy Slim and managed by Danny Stockland. Following the success of first couple years, the café team wanted to give something back to the community and the pirate ship is an ideal choice for the seaside location. The ship is topped with a flag bearing the smiley face and crossbones familiar with Fat Boy Slim fans as his iconic symbol.

Norman Cook said: “Danny and I have both watched our children grow up in this park. It’s a great place to spend time, what with the watersports on the lagoon,the skatepark and pirate boats and crazy golf. We wanted to give a little back to the community as a thank you for their support and help the area to be a hub for residents. So we contributed to the playground which needed a bit of a boost right now.”

The council is working to improve the Hove Lagoon play area and additional funding has been found to replace other items in the playground. While the wider project takes shape, children visiting the play area will be able to enjoy the pirate ship which was installed last week (completion date Saturday 25 July). The installation of the new pirate ship has been paid for by Brighton & Hove City Council.

Cllr Gill Mitchell, Chair of Environment, Transport and Sustainability, said: “This sounds amazing fun and I'm sure lots of small pirates will love it. Huge thanks to Noman Cook for providing such an exciting play opportunity.” 

Photo - Norman Cook with daughter Nelly at Hove Lagoon on the new pirate ship
Photo credit - www.snapitnow.co.uk