We’re looking at ways to develop the layout of the Royal Pavilion Garden and improve the management of the space. Can you help us?
The garden is a popular haven in the heart of the city for the people of Brighton and Hove and its many visitors to relax and enjoy.
Once an enclosed picturesque pleasure ground for King George IV and his guests, the Regency garden has evolved over the past 200 years to become a garden for everyone.
The council is committed to keeping it that way, making sure it remains free and accessible to all.
A typical summer’s day sees hundreds of people pass through the garden many stopping to enjoy the café or relax on the lawns. But the numbers of visitors day and night takes its toll on the fabric of the garden and last year the garden was listed on the Heritage at Risk register.
The Royal Pavilion Estate which includes the Garden, the Royal Pavilion, Brighton Museum, the Dome and Corn Exchange. There are several entrances to the Estate for visitors, some more welcoming than others. In some places the boundary is defined by walls, railings – but in other areas the boundary is not clear and the entrances indistinct.
We are considering how we can highlight this unique Regency garden and its importance in linking the exotic Royal Pavilion Estate buildings Including George’s Royal Palace, Stables (now the Dome) and Riding School (now Corn Exchange). We would also like to provide an impressive and welcoming arrival for all our visitors.
What can we do to help?
One idea is to reinstate the historic perimeter railings around the garden. The Garden was originally enclosed in this way and some of the railings dating back to the 1850s are still in place around the Garden. In other areas they have been removed and replaced with a disparate range of different features many of which now require maintenance or replacement. We would look to extend the original open style railing around the site, maintaining views of the Pavilion and garden from the street.
This would not only help define the garden in a way that complements the historic estate, it could also give the option of closing the Garden overnight to help protect the plants and buildings. This is something that some London parks do to help protect their busy centrally located open spaces.
To make the entrances more welcoming, and give a better sense of arrival, we are looking at ways to make them lighter and more evident.
We would welcome your views on any landscape improvements that would help improve visitor experiences and conserve this important heritage site.
We’d like your thoughts on the various entrances to the garden and how they might be improved and made more welcoming and how the pathways, lighting and seating need to be changed and improved.
We’d like to know whether you would support the idea of an overnight closure as a means to protect both the Garden and the buildings on the estate.
Take part in the Royal Pavilion Garden survey and help us to improve, conserve and protect the Royal Pavilion Garden for the next 200 years..
The survey closes on 29 June.