The council wants to offer a new cafe lease with a requirement to maintain toilets in one of the city’s most crime-ridden parks.
The flagship Level Cafe, built at a cost of £1 million in 2012 after many years of planning, closed in 2021 because of mystery leaks.
These were later revealed to have been a result of damage to the park’s Victorian drainage system, caused by the installation of the skate park.
The public toilets at the back of the building were then closed in August 2022. That year, 96 needles were found in the toilets as well as used condoms, tin foil, razors, weapons and drugs.
Now, Brighton and Hove City Council says it wants to convert one of the 1920s buildings behind the new building it into a cafe, with new toilets.
The cafe will be in the eastern pavilion – renamed the MacLaren Pavilion in 2012 – which was previously home to the playground cafe kiosk.
But meanwhile, the new cafe building will remain empty as it is unsafe, and costs to repair it said to be “significant”.
And a council report published today stresses there is no budget to clean and maintain the new toilets – and that providing public toilets is not a statutory duty.
The report says: “One of the primary issues which has led to exceptional levels of criminal and anti-social behaviour at the public toilets at The Velo Café is the lack of natural surveillance of the site.
“The current design, which allows for pockets of unsupervised areas, encourages criminal and anti-social behaviour.
“The intention is for the cleaning and maintenance of the public toilets to be undertaken by the café tenant as part of their lease.
“Not only will this provide the natural surveillance required, but it will also mean the site is attended more frequently than if it were to be maintained by the council.
“It will also mean these new toilets will be provided on a cost neutral basis for the council.
“It is important to note that there is no budget available to clean and maintain these new toilets. The lease and rent payable will reflect these arrangements.”
The pavilion is currently infrequently rented by one community group, which during the 2022/23 financial year brought in just £100.
Councillors will discuss the proposals at the City Environment, South Downs and The Sea Committee on 14 November.
They includes two standard toilets, a family room and an accessible toilet. There isn’t enough room for a Changing Places toilet.
If approved, the council will seek planning permission to go ahead with the work.
Councillor Tim Rowkins, Chair of the City Environment, South Downs and The Sea Committee, said: “The Level has been without a public toilet for too long, and we are very pleased to be bringing forward a new proposal to restore this essential facility.
“The Level is one of our largest open green spaces in the city centre, and it is vital that families with children, people with disabilities or health conditions and the elderly to have a public toilet facility available to them at this location.
“The condition of the building housing the old Velo Café and toilets means that it will require very substantial work to bring it back to life, and that is unfortunately not currently a viable option.
“We urgently need to restore these amenities and The MacLaren Pavilion is the perfect alternative for providing public toilets quickly.
“Having been re-awarded its prestigious Green Flag for 2023/24, we hope new toilets and an exciting new café will attract old and new visitors to The Level.”
A good solution , but what happens to the Velo Cafe site? will it be demolished ?
Hopefully yes and the hard standing space used for an outdoor gym or ping pong tables
Another fantastic gift to city from the Greens!
What have the Greens got to do with it? There are seven Green Councillors – one more than the Conservatives – and thirty-eight Labour. The Greens don’t run the council and they don’t make the decisions. Or do facts not signify in your universe?
Facts don’t apply in Brighton they never have done
Half the city thinks chromosomes dont signify gender FFS
Fact: Chromosomes don’t always align with gender at birth !
The facts are this was a Green party project, rolled out to a great fanfare.
Try to keep up, otherwise you’ll look stupid
They were in charge when the new cafe was built and the drug dealing park, sorry, skate park was constructed. Yes they bear responsibility.
It’s always been a drug dealing park. It’s common knowledge and is why it remains the place to buy drugs. Since probably the 80’s.
So it’s not anyone’s fault the drug addicts have to buy drugs somewhere.
Down in Newquay its 50p to spend a penny one person a time, one toilet, or the door remains locked , also some public toilets are fitted with a blue neon strip light, which makes it impossible to find a vien, I agree make it community owned , free rent and rates , a low profit community hub , new street art ect, the council should refabricate it , then leave it to the community to look After, cafe, various classes and hobbies , art and craft and Fimo modeling .
Why would anyone in their right mind want to take up the option of running this as a cafe and having to deal with a bunch of drunks and junkies collapsing in the toilets. Is BHCC for real?!
I sat near the funfair on the Level a couple of months back. Enjoyed my coffee for around 45 seconds until two junkies and a drunk started screaming about killing each other over what was left of a woman. Possibly the most unpleasant ten minutes I’ve spent in this town. Anyone thinking of taking this café lease on should be sectioned.
Businesses have enough problems to deal with, without having to deal with all the drama that goes on in these toilets.
Living in Dreamland if they think anyone will jump at this opportunity.
It is a shame . Many places have drug issues but they still provide decent public toilets!! What a load of 💩. Off course some will NEED to go where they need to go. Using drugs and shitting yaself are not linked it’s. Brighton ting
If the toilets were only accessed through the cafe it might be feasible, but then they’re not really public toilets.
I agree with you Chris. Personally, history has taught us that public toilets are a waste of money, just from the damages caused to them, particularly in the centralised hotspot.
Semi-public might be more reasonable? Deposit to use it? Per usage checks? Registration? I can see a few strategy there, and I think there’s finances there with the Community Ownership Fund, but…will it be effective is a great question.
Well, good luck to anyone who wants to take on this place
“And a council report published today stresses there is no budget to clean and maintain the new toilets – and that providing public toilets is not a statutory duty.”
Expect to hear this more often over the next four years..
Neither should they be in a city like Brighton. It’s full
Of junkies and undesirables you can’t possibly keep public toilets clean in a place like this
“Junkies and undesirables”? Yikes. Calm down, Adolf.
True though.
Yes. They made that clear from the outset at the start of the term.
The youth and vandalism. Why can’t they spend their time meditating and doing mindfulness or enjoying cold water swimming. Ahhh a shame. These folk never learn
No budget to clean public toilets ? never mind there’s a doorway just over the road in Oxford Place where the locals enjoy defecating.
I’m not sure what the 2 buildings are called in the photograph. I went to a class there once, and at the time thought it was such a beautiful space, complete with gardens. So sad to see it, boarded up, and graffiti plastered over it. I personally think it would be great to have a cafe there, people using it.
How can I apply? Is there a link to the Council’s proposal that I can read in full and respond to?
just contact your councillors and tell them you are interested
Clearly it’s best use is a Doggy Day Care facility with Cafe….I can see Spitfires tail wagging as I type!
Thinking it was April the 1st when reading this article,
Thinking it was April the 1st when reading this article,
Who designed and built the skate park? 5 mins on Google tells me its the Wellesbourne River that runs in a viaduct below the Level. It’s history is well documented
Difficult one, I would love to give it a go, but I would not be willing to pay the council for the rent of the place, make it a community project, and give people help they need.
I was thinking that. Create a CIC or CIO for it, exempt yourself from VATs, access the Community Ownership Fund for up to £1 million to start up the project and make repairs. You should do it, Dave. Throw the idea into the council, I am sure it’ll get back to me to support (I’m a bit of a broken record when it comes to the COF fund.)
Alternative suggestion is to use one building as a cafe that the community can also use and the other building for the toilets
With that headline, they’re really selling it for me!
The news that the skate park structure caused damage to Victorian drainage is no surprise, given other gaffes from this council.
I doubt there will be any responsibility taken. I’m also expecting the Old Steine fountain to collapse underground, one day, if they stick another funfair on there… I wonder, how long before further sinkholes appear?
This council, as in the current one? They didn’t build the skatepark.
there are old sewer tunnels under the fountain that nobody knew about
The cafe and Level redevelopment was a Green party vanity project. Cllr West was at the time, crowing how great it was . Another example of the total ineptitude and profligacy of the moronic Green Party
I have positive memories of the Level Cafe.. I played a gig there during the brief break in Covid lockdowns in 2021, and attended some great live jazz sessions just outside. At the point the area was clean and safe in the daytime, the toilets were functioning, and the nearby playground well used by children and their parents. The skatepark users did not seem to be memacing anyone and the whole area had a great community atmosphere. It would be great if the area could be restored to its former standard.
What would you suggest to create that atmosphere?
Easy problem to solve: illuminate the area properly during nightime. Riff raff don’t like bright lights.
Good illumination is actually a good idea.
Just turn it into a free campsite
The level used to be an amazing place in the 80s when I was a kid. The good old paddling pool. Now it’s the same as the rest of the Brighton. Built up and dirty all the time. The council always moan they have no money. That’s cause they have hiked up parking by so much that no one wants to visit the centre no more. London Road has now become an awful place to go which used to be a community place. The open market has been destroyed with the new one they done which always seems to be derelict. When they say let’s improve something it always makes it worse. The level used to be fenced all the way round which its not now. Being Brighton born and bread I have moved to the outskirts as disgusted with how the councils have run it into the ground
Turn it into a Youth Club we have enough cafes in Brighton surely
Oh, I’m sure people will be falling over themselves to take on this lease. Hold me back…..
Don’t all rush. If I was seeking to run a cafe I would not choose one in an area beset by junkies, drunks and anti social behaviour, plus being expected to provide and run toilets as well.