New sports pavilion opens
A new sports pavilion in Victoria Recreation Ground, Portslade, has been officially opened by the Mayor of Brighton & Hove, Councillor Alan Robins.
The pavilion provides a new home for Portslade Bowls Club whose previous base, behind Portslade Town Hall, was demolished to make way for a development of 42 new council homes.
A mix of one, two and three-bedroom council flats are currently being built on the site behind Portslade Town Hall in Victoria Road - one of the largest developments in our New Homes for Neighbourhoods programme building new rented council homes.
New sports facilities
Amenities at the sports pavilion include an outdoor artificial all-weather bowling green, a short mat indoor bowls area, changing rooms, and a kitchen.
It also has changing room facilities and a serving kiosk for refreshments which will be leased to a local football club in the near future.
The bowls club started using the pavilion earlier this year and has already seen an increase in membership, thanks to a combination of the new facilities and club taster sessions giving more people an opportunity to try bowls.
Building for the future
Work on the development of new homes in Victoria Road began in the spring and is due to be completed in autumn 2022.
As part of our commitment to reduce carbon emissions, the flats will be highly insulated and solar panels will help to reduce electricity bills for residents.
Other sustainability features will include ground source heat pumps to extract heat from the ground for heating and hot water.
There will be a landscaped communal garden for residents with raised planters, trees, a small orchard, seating and grass amenity space, plus living green walls watered with recycled rainwater.
The scheme will also provide a new civic outdoor space with trees and seating for people using Portslade Town Hall.
Councillor David Gibson, Co-Chair of the Housing Committee, said: “Our New Homes for Neighbourhoods building programme is providing much-needed new council homes, and helping to bring benefits for local communities.
“It’s great to see the new pavilion open and we are delighted the bowls club is enjoying an increase in membership.
“The new homes being built in Victoria Road have been designed to achieve the council’s carbon neutral targets for 2030. Residents can look forward to low energy bills and high quality homes for the foreseeable future.
“For the first time, we’re carrying out a full carbon assessment on this housing development. We’ll then be able to use the Victoria Road scheme as a benchmark to improve upon for our future council housing developments.”
Councillor Gill Williams, the opposition lead for housing, said: “After the challenges of the lockdown and such a difficult year, people are already making the most of the new bowling green and amenities.
“The provision of much needed new council housing is our priority, and it’s a real bonus that the development of these vital new homes has enabled new facilities to benefit Portslade and the wider community.”
Marion Whitney, Portslade Bowls Club treasurer, said: “We are enjoying the new facilities. We feel part of the community now, people stop to chat as they go by and some come back to try bowls for themselves.”
