The West Pier seafront arches officially opened today following a £5million refurbishment.
All of the ten units are now let, with many already open for business.
The city council began the project to rebuild, strengthen and refurbish the Victorian arches in November 2012, between Alfresco and the West Pier.
The work was needed due to Victorian structural deterioration, causing cracking and subsidence of structural elements; and allowing rain to leak into the arches below.
They include:
The Lollipop Shoppe – Contemporary Gifts and Interiors, www.thelollipopshoppe.co.uk
Brighton Photography – Photography gallery, www.brightonphotography.com
Banana Louis – Hair Studio, www.bananalouishairstudio.co.uk
Artist Anon Brighton – Original clothing and artwork, www.artistanon.com / www.paperkutz.co.uk
Bailey Alexander Gallery – Art Crafts and Jewellery, www.baileyalexander.co.uk
Small Folk Run – Children’s clothes and interiors, www.smallfolkrun.com
Mia Beach – Knitting and crochet specialist and ladies clothing, www.i-foundyou.com
The Hat Hut – Hats, bags and accessories
The arches will be lit at night with lights programmed to produce sweeping blues, whites and sea greens to represent waves.
The lighting scheme was designed and installed by Urban Projects who are the lighting design company behind the award winning Bandstand lighting scheme visible from the West Pier Arches. www.urbanprojects.ltd.uk
Click on play below to hear one of the new traders, Mars Miller, artist and founder of clothing brand Artist Anon Brighton, talk about setting up shop
listen to ‘Independent Brighton retailers set up shop in refurbished seafront arches’ on Audioboo
The seafront arches work is part of the council’s long-term seafront strategy designed to encourage business and enhance the city and will complement other work taking place in the area, the centre piece of which is the i360.
Premises to the west of the former West Pier have now been rebuilt using a reinforced concrete frame and roof, together with ornate brick facades.
The brick arches themselves have been fabricated off site and brought in. All the bricks have been specially made by Ibstock following the careful mapping and surveying of the old façade. Many new bricks are special non-standard shapes and sizes.
New wooden frames, doors and windows have been made by Seth Evans Joinery near Worthing. Iron railings above have been re-cast from moulds dating back to the 1880s.
Council Project Manager Leon Bellis has worked closely with the design engineers, Amey, architects Solar Architecture and the contractor C J Thorne. Council conservation and planning experts, together with English Heritage, have been closely involved to ensure authenticity.
The first phase of the works is now complete, delivering 26 new arches which provide 10 double-arched business units or artists’ studios; plus a newly refurbished seafront toilet block at the eastern end, which opened last month (on 27 June).
Whoa £5M?!
For ten workshops/studios?!!!
What the ?! WOW!! Mad….
Who was the Council’s cost consultant on this? Who is responsible for time and cost at the Council?!
Ibstock ‘special’ ‘one off’ ‘non standard’ shape and size bricks ?! Read ‘they saw us coming’……. And the brickie no doubt!
Well the rents on these units must be huge, unless we council tax payers are massively subsidising ?
I guess the latter.
I doubt anybody even ran an appraisal which shows the numbers and the council tax payer subsidy? (Did you?!?!!!)?
Whoa £5M?!
For ten workshops/studios?!!!
What the ?! WOW!! Mad….
Who was the Council’s cost consultant on this? Who is responsible for time and cost at the Council?!
Ibstock ‘special’ ‘one off’ ‘non standard’ shape and size bricks ?! Read ‘they saw us coming’……. And the brickie no doubt!
Well the rents on these units must be huge, unless we council tax payers are massively subsidising ?
I guess the latter.
I doubt anybody even ran an appraisal which shows the numbers and the council tax payer subsidy? (Did you?!?!!!)?
Whoa £5M?!
For ten workshops/studios?!!!
What the ?! WOW!! Mad….
Who was the Council’s cost consultant on this? Who is responsible for time and cost at the Council?!
Ibstock ‘special’ ‘one off’ ‘non standard’ shape and size bricks ?! Read ‘they saw us coming’……. And the brickie no doubt!
Well the rents on these units must be huge, unless we council tax payers are massively subsidising ?
I guess the latter.
I doubt anybody even ran an appraisal which shows the numbers and the council tax payer subsidy? (Did you?!?!!!)?
£5M is just chump change my friend. You ought to get out more.
£5M is just chump change my friend. You ought to get out more.
To clarify, the £5m includes Phase 2 of the construction, a further 36 Arches to the east which will be let as a mixture of Beach Huts and Commercial Units.
I am quick to get on the Council’s back for their apparent profligacy, but with a design life of 120 years combined with a sympathetic reproduction of the Victorian brickwork, B&HCC have at last looked at a long-term solution rather than the usual short-term “patch it up” programme so favoured by politicians…
At £500.000 per unit a costly project for retail space cheaper than a one bedroom flat, six months behind schedule and to be surrounded by a building site for the next 2 years or so. A leap of faith for only the brave. the rejuvenation of the area is going to take allot more than this project offers at the moment. Reconstruction of the original iron work in Regency Square could bring back some of the architecture that was lost over the decades. pedestionination of Preston street similar to other streets in the lanes might help to revitalize the once famous street of a thousand restaurants. With the decline in the area and a constant string of failed businesses as a back drop to the development, without underestimating changes in social habits and austerity. Getting disposable income back on the streets and of the internet and into restaurants/bars and the new development could well be a challenge in an area which has fallen on hard times.
With so many offers to rebuild the West pier declined the old lady is just waiting for the fat lady to sing. The future of West pier has had it’s fate sealed.
With the new developments in progress in the rather sad Marina village and the i360, change is a foot, Brighton is a changing .
Time will tell if this is going to be a great success or white elephant, as a resident i wish the project well.
At £500.000 per unit a costly project for retail space cheaper than a one bedroom flat, six months behind schedule and to be surrounded by a building site for the next 2 years or so. A leap of faith for only the brave. the rejuvenation of the area is going to take allot more than this project offers at the moment. Reconstruction of the original iron work in Regency Square could bring back some of the architecture that was lost over the decades. pedestionination of Preston street similar to other streets in the lanes might help to revitalize the once famous street of a thousand restaurants. With the decline in the area and a constant string of failed businesses as a back drop to the development, without underestimating changes in social habits and austerity. Getting disposable income back on the streets and of the internet and into restaurants/bars and the new development could well be a challenge in an area which has fallen on hard times.
With so many offers to rebuild the West pier declined the old lady is just waiting for the fat lady to sing. The future of West pier has had it’s fate sealed.
With the new developments in progress in the rather sad Marina village and the i360, change is a foot, Brighton is a changing .
Time will tell if this is going to be a great success or white elephant, as a resident i wish the project well.