Hove Beach Park café operator announced

Babble Beach has been selected to operate the café at the new Outside Sports Hub in Hove Beach Park. 

Babble Beach is a cafe / kitchen / bar concept that aims to appeal to as wide a range of customers as possible throughout the year. It will showcase a collaboration between local independent brands Bison Beer, Everflyht Vineyard and Slam Kitchen.

Councillor Jacob Taylor said: “It is really exciting to see the new park taking shape. It will bring a wide range of new and improved leisure facilities to the Hove seafront.

“Providing great food and drink is a key part of what the park will offer residents and visitors alike. I’m delighted that Babble Beach, a local consortium with considerable experience in hospitality across the city, will be delivering that from the superb new sports hub building.

“Babble Beach presented a unique offer which is very different from existing businesses nearby and will fill a gap in the market on Hove seafront.

“Their proposal is designed to be accessible and to appeal to families, local residents, park and beach users. Their proposals included sustainability initiatives, including beach cleans, minimising waste and a focus on circular economy using local suppliers.

“The consortium will be investing in fitting out the premises and made a rental offer that was the highest received.”

Ben Ellis of Babble Beach said: "The Babble team are delighted to have been chosen to be part of this fantastic proposal. It will create a perfect opportunity to highlight amazing locally produced food and drink, focusing on the highest quality.

“The potential to create a community-based facility in such a wonderful setting is incredibly exciting.”

The new café / restaurant

The Outdoor Sports Hub will have a café / restaurant on the first floor which will be surrounded by outdoor terraces on three sides. There will also be a kiosk at ground level.

The rest of the ground floor of the building will include new public toilets, showers and changing facilities, the clubhouse for Hove & Kingsway Bowls Club and an office for grounds maintenance staff.

Entry to the café from the esplanade will be up two sweeping staircases from the west and east. An internal lift is also available.

Hove Beach Park

The development of the new park, stretching from Hove Lagoon to the King Alfred Leisure Centre, is predominantly funded by the UK Government.

When finished, in addition to the new Outdoor Sports Hub, it will feature eastern and western gardens; wheeled sports areas including a skatepark, pump track and roller area; tennis and padel tennis courts; a sand sports area; and improvements to the croquet lawn and the facilities at Hove Lagoon.

The park has been designed to deliver significant accessibility improvements for people with mobility issues over the previous facilities.

Following the opening of the first sections of the park to be finished in the next few weeks, the new ground level public toilets, showers and changing facilities at the Outdoor Sports Hub will open in September 2024, with the café opening next year. Hove Beach Park will be formally opened next spring.

Cabinet decision

The completion of the commercial lease was agreed at the Cabinet meeting on 18 July 2024. The item was added to the agenda less than 5 days before the meeting as a delay to the lease completion would have left the building vacant beyond practical completion, at cost to the council.

Details of items discussed at the meeting can be viewed on our Cabinet meetings web pages.