A brewery is planning to open a taproom and food market on a Brighton site where previous plans for offices met a storm of opposition.
Lewes-based Beak Brewery has agreed a deal with the owners of the site next to the Prince Albert, in Trafalgar Street, subject to being granted a licence.
The venue, which would be called Beak MRKT, would have seating for 230 customers on communal benches, with food provided by independents. The brewery is applying to serve alcohol until 10pm, and open until 11.30pm.
Proposals from site owner Patricia Camping for a four-storey office block with shops or a cafe on the ground floor were rejected in November after more than 1,280 people objected.
Brewery founder Daniel Tapper said: “The previous plans were wildly unpopular. When we saw this happening we thought we have got an idea that will hopefully keep everyone happy.
“Not only local residents – hopefully it will become a community hub and add to the cultural fabric of the area.
“It’s a delicate balancing act. We’ve been communicating with local residents to be clear about what we are proposing.
“When they see the capacity they might think we don’t want that many people in a venue near our homes. But we aren’t proposing a huge Wetherspoons pub.
“We have created a venue with 100 per cent seating. The focus is eating and pairing that food with really nice locally made beer and cider.
“For this to work, it has to have the community on side.”
The plans have the support of the Prince Albert. Owner George Taylor said: “We think what Beak are proposing is a fantastic idea and exactly what this area needs.
“From the beginning we’ve thought a food market is the best way forward for this vacant plot and we can’t think of anyone better to bring this into reality than Beak.
“We really hope the council approves the plans as it’ll bring some much needed footfall to the businesses already in the area.”
Ward councillor Ellen McLeay said that she was broadly supportive of the scheme but asked for the application to be brought to a panel of councillors.
She said: “While I support this project overall in principle – think Shelter Hall vibes for the North Laine – I also recognise the concerns of residents regarding the approval of a new licensed premises.
“I do know that the applicant has been working to address the key concerns put forward by residents and the police and as a result I am very impressed by how proactively they are engaging with the community to get this right.”
The site was put on the market at the end of 2022 for £2.2 million but has so far not sold.
It is still on the market, but the price has been reduced to £1.5 million. The listing, on estate agent Austin Gray’s website, said that the owner would be appealing against the planning refusal but no appeal has been lodged to date.
If Beak Brewery’s application is approved and the plans proceed, the taproom and food market could be open as soon as this autumn.
The application is due to be heard at a licensing panel meeting on Thursday 4 April.
sounds great
love beak brewery and a food hall format will be a novel set up for brighton
The way forward, will bring more people to the city.
That’s great that The Albert support it. Bit hipstery for me personally, but a good plan. Hope it works out.
Seems like a good use for this site. Hope that it gets approved.
great example of nominative determinism, a brewery run by a Daniel Tapper.
Looks like a great idea to me, allthough i can hear the North Lane Residents’ Association cracking open the green ink already. Hope this goes ahead!
You’d think people have never seen a bier hall before. Looks like a fun time. Remember Oktoberfest having a similar set up, albeit temporary.
Hopefully this will go ahead – I’ll never understand the people who complain about how empty our high streets are, then support ludicrous, petty objections to anything even remotely fun being in town. Our planning and licencing system needs to be overhauled to only include relevant opinions – so the business owners, urban planners and residents in the IMMEDIATE (20 metres or so) vicinity.
No more moronic, whinging objections from Mr and Mrs outraged in the suburbs, or the police, who are about as relevant to planning and licencing as a salmon is to the function of a jet engine. If you want your local area to feel more alive, you need to give people spaces to actually use in it first. When a business applies to open a new space, the answer should by default be yes, unless there are VERY good, thoroughly evidenced reasons to say no.
I had always thought it would have been good as a music extension to the Prince Albert, but this sounds like a fab idea.
See what can happen when you engage with the community instead of treating them like plebs.
The Albert did a great job of ensuring this plot didn’t become a self-serving commercial space which encroached upon the existing nature of it’s neighbours.
They deserve a lot of credit for the fact Beak’s venture stands a chance.
https://www.change.org/p/sign-help-save-the-prince-albert
I thought of this idea a while ago, and I am so glad Beak brewery have the capital to put it in place. It will bring a lovely vibe to this part of Brighton, I went to something similar in Copenhagen and Lisbon, it is a very relaxing space, having a mix of cafe stalls and eatery stands for food and wine pairing. This space is needing something like this and will bring even more of a community feel to trafalgar street. I hope it goes ahead.
More £7 pints incoming to Brighton, turning the town centre into a middle class beige mush. This will take business away from the local ordinary (non-hipster) pubs and just offer samey canteen-style rip-off space for the owners under the guise of “taproom”. School chairs and tables and £7 pints. Lovely
Not a great Idea. It’s just more of the same – £7 pints and canteen furniture. Support your local pub (eg The Albert)
Every time I make a comment (slightly disapproving of this venue) it gets removed – what is going on here? Can there not be any disapproval on this subject?