£4m bid goes in to start Brighton Terraces re-build
A bid for £4m has today been submitted to the government to kick-start the regeneration of Brighton seafront’s Madeira Terraces.
The money would come from the Coastal Communities Fund. It would be combined with a similar sum from the council for the first phase of a three-stage rebuilding of the Terraces.
This first Phase would complete in 2019/20. Other sections would then be developed on a commercial basis, completing by 2023.
An estimated 145 jobs would be created by the entire project, according to the council’s bid document, adding £5m a year to the local economy. It says the plan would “introduce innovative commercial and leisure uses to the structure in order to breathe life back into Brighton’s eastern seafront”.
The document continues: ”The redevelopment would be sensitive to the Madeira Terraces’ heritage by using historic materials and structural solutions”.
Communities minister Mark Francois, centre, at Madeira Terraces
Potential mixed uses for the Grade 2 listed structure include an iconic hotel, youth hostel, arts centre, gallery, catering, boutique retail and start-up space for creative and digital firms.
These would form part of a wider planned regeneration of the eastern seafront. In the pipeline are proposals for a new arena and convention centre at Black Rock, a sea swimming centre at Peter Pan’s Playground, £1.85m improvements to the Volk’s Railway and a zip-wire attraction replacing the Brighton Wheel.
A buoyant visitor economy, strong local support for regenerating the area and high demand for commercial space on the seafront are cited as reasons why the plan would succeed. Close working with businesses, interest groups and Historic England are promised.
Communities minister Mark Francois was today shown the Terraces by council officials and told of the £1 billion pounds-worth of investment for the seafront either planned or underway, funded from a variety of public and private sources.
The minister later met council environment chair Cllr Gill Mitchell to view the £11m Shelter Hall restoration project underway between the piers.
He also attended today’s Coastal Communities Conference at the Metropole Hotel, where council leader Warren Morgan gave the welcome address.
Cllr Morgan said: “We will today be submitting our bid for Coastal Communities funding to help get what we’re calling the Lockwood Project to regenerate the Terraces underway. Further funding will be sought from private investment, crowd funding and potentially the Public Works Loan Board as we look for innovative ways to raise the estimated £24 million costs.”
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