Councillors narrowly voted to give planning permission for a set of storage lockers on Brighton beach.
The four lockers were placed next to the former Peter Pan’s Playground site, in Madeira Drive, by Sea Lanes, the outdoor swimming pool operator, without planning permission.
A nearby resident and former councillor Roy Pennington objected to a retrospective planning application for the lockers.
At Hove Town Hall yesterday (Wednesday 4 October) he spelt out his concerns to Brighton and Hove City Council’s Planning Committee.
Mr Pennington said that pedestrian access across the Volk’s Railway track, through a gate next to the site, was too dangerous and this was not mentioned in the report to the committee.
He said: “There will be a significant increase in footfall if this application is approved. It would not be difficult or costly to repair and improve the pedestrian gate.”
Brighton Surf Life Saving Club (BSLSC) chair David Samuel spoke in support of the application because one of the lockers stores the club’s life-saving equipment, including 70 boards, rescue tubes and first aid mannequins.
The club has 256 members and became homeless two years ago, having been based at Brighton Sailing Club for 15 years. It has been working with the council to find a long-term base since 2005.
Mr Samuel said: “Sea Lanes very graciously stepped forward and offered us some temporary accommodation in shipping containers. They offered us a lifeline we gratefully received.
“They realised they had the former storage units, then intended to rebuild as like for like, and they offered to build those for us to allow the storage, without which the club had to fold.”
He said that neither Sea Lanes nor BSLSC realised that they needed planning permission as they were speaking with the council about the move and replacing what had been there since 2018.
Councillors were torn over granting temporary planning permission for 10 years while the Sea Lanes pool was in place.
Labour councillor Liz Loughran, who chairs the Planning Committee, voted against granting permission for the lockers because she was concerned about the visual impact on the grade 2* listed Madeira Terraces.
She said: “We’ve heard evidence this afternoon that there is public benefit in terms of the life-saving equipment stored in these lockers.
“But my hesitation or reluctance to support the planning application is that I think the 10-year period is too long. I don’t think that’s a temporary period. I’ve not heard of a temporary period lasting for such a long duration.”
Conservative councillor Carol Theobald said: “I do hope the containers will be maintained, not left in a state. Perhaps in the future, we’ll look into the access to the area for disabled people.
“This club is excellent for our city. We should support this because this is what we need in our city by the sea.”
The plans passed by five votes to four.
So Soho House has had nothng but problems from that ugly buliding called the Van Allen and that naff gay bar and hotel called Legends for wanting to erect a glass gate to stop people fron getting onto their premises. They both have done nothing but opposed the plans, Legends have even encouraged their customers to oppose it for a free pint but yet these storage lockers which were built without permission that do block the seaview and are not glass get to stay. If the council does not grant permission to Soho House it will highlight the unfairness of how the council make its decisions ….. or is it the backhanders
Oh dear oh dear. Let’s all go build storage for our kayaks and picnics and anything else we don’t want to keep lugging down the beach, and then apply for retrospective planning permission and see how that goes…
If, like me, you have lived and worked in that area for many years you’ll know that there were and are several plots where fisherman equipment huts once stood, originally housing fishing nets and boat winches.
And people typically rent these beach plots from the council as watersports storage, because no fishing boats operate off that beach now. They are not beach huts, because of the height restrictions when building.
A friend of mine keeps his kayak and paddle board down there.
Until recently, some plots were just left unused, as slabs of concrete on the beach. You might not have noticed, because Kemp Town beach is so broad, having accumulated so much shingle since the Marina wall was built, stopping the longshore drift of shingle, locally.
So this change by Sealanes is putting those old fishing winch hut locations back into good use, in a modern age.
Our future water users and lifeguards are now being trained here.
What is not to like? Go take a look for yourself before posting some made up moan.
Yep I look every day. Not interested in what was there or why or how. The planning process is there for a reason – apparently- so use it. Or don’t and face the consequences. The issues are process (don’t flout it, or if you do, be sanctioned) oh, and fairness. Erm that’s why we have laws.
Well I too believe in the planning process.
But if you know anything about that process, then precedent – about what was there in the past – plays a large part in what is allowed there now.
And of course if we are to be really picky about the beach, it’s not actually clear who owns this section of shingle, between the established land line and the high water mark, or whether the council is allowed to rent it out.
The precedent for building on the beach between the piers has been stretched a lot in recent years – and none of the bars used to have that outdoor space. What is happening next to Sea Lanes is fairly minor, in comparison.
I personally am glad the surf lifesaving club has found a base to work from, and where they can store their wetsuits and boards. Nothing has been lost or made worse. Simple as that.
“Labour councillor Liz Loughran, who chairs the Planning Committee, voted against granting permission for the lockers because she was concerned about the visual impact on the grade 2* listed Madeira Terraces.”
If Labour are so concerned about the appearance of Madeira Terraces why are they doing everything possible to kill the restoration?
Once again, disingenuously strawmanning the words of one individual as the collective will of a group in an attempt to create terminological inexactitudes. I’m not going to humour such a bad faith comment.
its going ahead, restoration of 30 arches next year
Billy+Short,
Couldn’t have put it better myself dear boy!
People of Brighton & Hove unite…..the whole area has been vastly improved…long may it continue.
I heard someone once say to never let policy get in the way of a good idea. Even if the order in which it was done was chronologically corrected, would the outcome be different?