The Floral Clock is to be scrapped as Brighton and Hove City Council prepares to give the top end of Palmeira Square a makeover.
The council said: “The Floral Clock feature, which has not been working for many years, will be replaced, with the council keen to hear what people would like to go in its place.
“Designed in the 1950s, the clock required daily maintenance dating back to its initial installation, making it a costly and staff-intensive feature to run.
“Having stopped working some years ago, it is now beyond repair.
“Suggestions already received for what could take its place include a traditional sundial, a more contemporary sundial, a sculpture or a piece of modern art.”
The council said that this was part of a wider plan to re-landscape and re-plant Palmeira Square, adding: “The garden at the northern end of Palmeira Square is to be given a makeover and we’re consulting residents on our new proposals.
“The popular site, which runs alongside Church Road, will undergo re-landscaping and a re-planting scheme, with preparatory work beginning next month. The entire project is scheduled for completion by April 2026.
“Plans for the re-landscaping and re-planting elements are now out for consultation, with people encouraged to provide feedback via our online survey.
“There will also be opportunities for people to hear more from and feed into the landscape team on site in the coming weeks and months.
“Initial proposals include re-shaping flower beds and adding more sustainable plants which are better suited to a warmer climate, with a focus on pollinating perennials and ground-covering plants similar to those found at Hove Lagoon.
“We’ve been working in partnership with the Friends of Adelaide and Palmeira Square (FOPA) and once the project is complete, FOPA volunteers will help our staff maintain the area.
“Changes to the perimeter railings are also planned, alongside measures to improve accessibility by matching pathways with connecting crossings outside the garden.
“With fencing set to go up on Monday 1 September, access to this part of Palmeira Square will soon be restricted.
“We will be engaging with communities and groups who traditionally use the square for planned events but who will be unable to do so for the duration of the work, to look at what will and won’t be possible between now and next spring.”
Labour councillor Alan Robins, the council’s cabinet member for sports, recreation and libraries, said: “We know how important the square is as a community space and appreciate the temporary closure of this site will impact local people and communities.
“But this area is in need of improvement and some investment and we’re delighted to be in a position where we can now share our plans for a proposed transformation.
“The designs we are proposing celebrate the heritage of this site. They reflect the surrounding architecture and sea views and will deliver a beautiful and sustainable Mediterranean garden people will be able to enjoy for many decades to come.
“As an area which has such significance to the community in Hove and is so well used, it is vital our changes reflect local opinion as much as possible and we look forward to hearing what people think.
“We’re determined to create a space which can be enjoyed by the community for many years to come.
“People can share their feedback and ideas now online, with our survey running until Sunday 14 September.”
This is disgusting. I for one love the floral clock and grew up with it. it is a famous feature of Hove. Don’t tell me it’s not possible to get a new mechanism for it in this day and age which does not require daily maintenance. It sounds like the council just want an excuse to get rid of it for their own motives. When and where was the consultation? They can get hold of us soon enough for a council tax issue, so why whenever they are trying to ruin the city or destroy something of value, don’t we all know about it? Why is our council run by people who hate our city and its residents so much?
You can pay for that then. Id much prefer they spent the morning resurfacing that bit of western road near six, that actually affects me on a daily basis unlike some boring clock that’s not actually been there for as long as I can remember
THIS IS UTTERLY DISGUSTING. SHAME ON YOU COUNCIL.
This is just an excuse to get rid of something you cannot be bothered to deal with.
You can find the money for vanity projects that no-one wants. (Valley gardens)
You can find the money for diversity managers and community cohesion directors and other dei woke lefty nonsense.
The floral clock is my favourite feature of Hove (I ignore Brighton – Brighton has become a dump)
I have a picture of myself, taken by my mum in around 1969/70. I’m standing in front of the clock. The clock and gardens look absolutely beautiful. I love that picture, not because I’m in it (not bothered about me) but because of the beautiful clock behind me.
Part of my life for 60 years or more.
Also, at some point in the recent past, the council replaced all of the pillars that support the chains; they used to be solid stone pillars. They were replaced with what looks like cheap metal posts, that look like they cost about 50p each. Absolute rubbish.
So, council, sack a few diversity managers and re-instate the clock as it should be.
Shame on you… Mate get a life lol its a clock, but a watch.
Vote reform, nah no thanks, would get people like you in charge, who clearly have some mental health issues.
THIS IS UTTERLY DISGUSTING. SHAME ON YOU COUNCIL.
This is just an excuse to get rid of something you cannot be bothered to deal with.
You can find the money for vanity projects that no-one wants. (Valley gardens)
You can find the money for diversity managers and community cohesion directors and other dei woke lefty nonsense.
The floral clock is my favourite feature of Hove (I ignore Brighton – Brighton has become a dump)
I have a picture of myself, taken by my mum in around 1969/70. I’m standing in front of the clock. The clock and gardens look absolutely beautiful. I love that picture, not because I’m in it (not bothered about me) but because of the beautiful clock behind me.
Part of my life for 60 years or more.
Also, at some point in the recent past, the council replaced all of the pillars that support the chains; they used to be solid stone pillars. They were replaced with what looks like cheap metal posts, that look like they cost about 50p each. Absolute rubbish.
So, council, sack a few diversity managers and re-instate the clock as it should be.
Vote Reform.
Using the clock as a proxy to vent undermines your point about wanting heritage preserved. Funny to see Reform touted as the answer here. They’re the party most likely to rip out flower beds, not restore them.
The decline of B&H started with the Greens and continues to this day with Labour. Neither have any sense of civic pride. No doubt it will be turned into an area filled with drug addicts, tents and Hamas cos players. No space for the Hanukkah Menora, you watch.
If you are saying the decline started from around 2011 that is because councils aren’t entirely funded by council tax, which is in itself a regressive tax. The Government cut its grants to all councils and Brighton & Hove was hit with it’s first cut in 2010 of £27 million.
Over the last 15 years, those cuts average 20% in cuts from the total budget of councils.
Services cost money and they are often efficiently run. People complain about costs, then there are cuts of 100s of millions of pounds and then people complain about floral clocks.
Make your mind up! If you want these nice things let’s end austerity.
Well said. There was also George Osborne’s deft duckshoving of the entire responsibility for social care onto councils. No wonder they struggle.
Well said. My own view is that the way out of austerity has to involve rebalancing the tax system. Fiscal drag has quietly created a lot of inequality, and unless that’s addressed, councils will never have the resources to deliver the civic pride people rightly want.
Why are FOPA supporting this? They are supposed to look after residents’ interests, not sell us out.
Genuinely some of the most mental and unhinged comments I’ve ever read.
People need to take their meds.
I am not pleased to hear this. It would not surprise me if it ends up as a poorly maintained bicycle park that a tiny minority use.
*Dislike*
Except there’s no suggestion of that, like, at all…
I had no idea that you were so averse to someone having a thought that is not precipitated by another’s suggestion. Is it against party policy?
Don’t worry, you’re allowed your thoughts. But if Palmeira Square suddenly sprouts a BMX track, I’ll happily admit you saw it coming before the rest of us. How did you know about the secret manifesto pledge? Replace every clock with a bicycle park. We tried it with Big Ben, but the queues were horrendous.
Why no Mention of the informal shrine/meeting point that has been set-up in this area?
The real reason for the so-called ‘re-vamp’? Kill 2 birds with one stone if the council wanted to get rid of the floral clock already.
I became very sad reading what the council is intending to do. It reads like this is what we are doing and this is what you will have! Welll no! people don’t want a Mediterranean garden we like it as it is Bit of pruning and general tidy up.
Well, that’s an option, so…
Floral clocks often need Carpet Bedding which is expensive and needs professional Care
The Mediterranean Garden would be cheap to maintain but can get out of hand if not maintained properly. It would not need much care by ground Staff
Is this Brighton Council being prudent with our money, or is it a ‘Cop-Out!!)
I am horrified by this.
Below is supposed to be the public ‘consultation’, yet Councillor Alan Robins has already made his mind up despite the fact it has another three weeks to run! And it is a single, skewed one question consultation which few residents knew about so needs to be scrapped.
This smacks of a Kyle initiative to get rid of the political protestors using this green and then leaving their used saucepans outside his office.
If it also disposes of a nuisance historic floral clock, the council can no longer be bothered to maintain, all the better.
Cllr Robins, please resign now if you care so little for the people you represent. And MP Peter Kyle. What have you done for Hove lately? Nothing.
https://yourvoice.brighton-hove.gov.uk/en-GB/projects/palmeira-square-landscaping/surveys/new?phase_id=23e9dd95-75cb-48cd-a1f8-12c2f8ea5bb0&idea_id=7b3a6086-28e7-4ecc-b857-03d49d34f581
Elaine, it’s not been working for years.
Elaine if this horrifies you, maybe best you don’t leave the house any more. Sounds like reality is to much for your frail self.
Yet another piece of Brighton & Hove’s architectural heritage left to wither and die.
Can we just keep the floral clock?
I’m so upset to hear this .
It’s an iconic landmark in Hove and should remain so .
It seems this council wants to have no connection with B&H past heritage but only thinking of ruining anything of worth .
I hate this council and all it stands for which is cycle lanes, trans,students and instead of tackling graffiti,litter,dirty pavements & dirty bins everywhere,they think this is a good idea .
You are so out of touch with local people
We look forward to you standing at the next election so you can straighten the council out.
Hi Karen – ironic name, amazing… If you hate trans people, bike lanes, dirty pavements and gardens without clocks. I’ve got just the policial party for you. Run by a common every man, ignore the fact he’s a millionaire banker, he smokes indoors has filthy teeth and talks utter tosh on a fascist TV channel, always there to point out problems, never to be seen with any sensible answers.
Meantime the rest of us in the real world don’t let boring nonsense effect our lives or take out their disappointment in their own life on everyone else around them.
Merry Christmas
Says the person using ageist and misogynistic slurs.
Get a grip! It’s only a floral clock that hasn’t worked for the last goodness knows how long. There are bigger fish to fry.
If the ground is suitable plant some trees , put in more benches. If you look at the cuts to council gardeners over the past few decades most of the parks rely on volunteers for maintenance
It’s a good point, and floral clocks are crazy expensive to maintain. Most UK councils scrapped theirs decades ago. Even Edinburgh’s, arguably the most famous, requires sponsorship and still struggles with costs.
Not as much as unused cycle lanes. Surely too a modern mechanism can be installed so it is just the flowers which need the maintenance. Brighton and Hove used to be famous for its amazing flowerbeds. They have already been cut to the bone and should not be cut any more. This is supposed to be a famous tourist resort ffs. The council needs replacing with people who actually care about our city. Seeing the words ‘Your Voice’ on the so-called consultation which is already pre-decided made me feel physically sick. How dare they insult us like this when they have no intention of listening to any voice.
You can fit a modern motor, but the main cost is the planting and daily upkeep, not the clock hands. So that doesn’t really solve the problem. But I take the point about wanting more gardeners on hand to do things. I’m wondering how you could structure that, potentially with a non-profit group that has some support from the council?
I think the council could give away a lot of its functions like this, and there is potentially a lot of benefit for both residents and the council to do so.
The council should seek to follow the excellent example of Greenhill Gardens in Weymouth. A thoughtful and careful restoration could easily be funded locally; the skills to support the research and replanting of the gardens could be brought together from local residents – many of whom (and I include myself) would love to have the opportunity to contribute to a local gardening project. It would be a real shame for the council to fall to the same trap as the Hove Lagoon planting, which is still inaccessible to residents even now.
It needs modernising
Ideas could be an LGBTQ+ flower bed
Or a Free Palestine flower bed
Or a Labour flower bed
Support for immigrants flower bed
Maybe get AI to design some ideas and get you future generation u21s to vote
Just signed a pettition to save the floral clock at https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/save-hove-floral-clock
Definitely a cycle Palestine for trans sculpture. Or just get a solar powered modern clock? No lets get rid of everything good and historic.
I swear to God, brighton appears to be an elite vanity project, blowing money left, right and centre on tarting up perfectly functional spaces. Bella Swanky, more like.
There is a Floral Clock petition on Brighton Past Facebook page with the link to it.
There is also the Council consultation to air views.
Brighton and Hove need to bring back the professional gardeners we used to have, to tend the town’s flower beds and parks and keep them in the pristine condition they used to be in. They worked from Stanmer Park and were apprenticed there which was a lifetime career of skills and pride in their work. They managed all parks and gardens and the seaside flower beds.
Preston Park held national competitions for its flower beds with towns from all over England who would compete for the honour of having a flower bed there and to enter the competitions.
The gardeners’ department could come under Tourism Committee, and it is an important part of tourism to keep our parks and gardens pristine. Visitors used to come to see the flower beds along the seafront, but they won’t come to see which new cycle lane has been introduced. The cost of setting up the department would be offset by the extra visitors to the town to see the flowerbeds.
A new Floral Clock could be sponsored by businesses (one each of the 4 clock faces) and this would be a good promotion for them. They could pay for maintaining the upkeep.
Don’t allow the Council to turn the Floral Clock and gardens there into another desert of bare grass patches, which they have done to the Skateboard Lagoon Park and which they are holding up as the example they wish to follow! If you have not checked out the new Lagoon Skateboard Park (which is excellent itself), go to see the grass surrounding it and non descript dull grass planting areas.
The floral clock is of course a reminder of Hove’s genteel and better off past run by Hove Borough Council – before merging with Brighton, as the now unitary authority ’Brighton & Hove’ in about 1997.
Years ago, I was once told, the eastern end of the island at the north end of Palmeira Square had below ground public toilets which, when retired, were just simply filled in. How decorative might they have been? Digging them out might be worth looking at and restoring.
Labour can find the funds for their vanity projects that few want i.e. valley gardens, A259 but are clueless in maintaining or improving this city. Hove Beach Park was funded by the Conservative Government. Labour & Cityparks planted hundreds of trees but with no after care they have wilted & died.
Palmeira Sq Mediterranean garden – having a laugh. This means planting a few plants (not to be maintained) in real terms.
King Alfred, Black Rock, West Pier & Madeira Arches are all desperately in need of improvements, yet this woeful Labour Council is not business centric (nor is Rachel Reeves).
Install a new clock and let’s have a proper flower beds- like other towns & cities.
Once again, Cllr Lyons should know better than to think he’s going to make a comment like that without it being challenged with reality.
Let’s be clear: Hove Beach Park was funded by the central government, not by local Conservatives dipping into their own pockets. If Lyons wants credit for that, he also has to own that his own government cut £27m from Brighton & Hove’s budget in 2010, rising to over £100m in lost funding across the decade, reported by Brighton & Hove News. He will also have to accept that the aftercare staff that Conservative austerity stripped away is a major cause. BHCC’s own Tree Strategy (around 2020) shows a £405k funding shortfall to meet basic maintenance standards.
He says we should “follow other towns & cities,” yet councils across the UK have retired floral clocks for more sustainable features precisely because they are so expensive – around £20,000 a year to maintain, as East Ayrshire Council documented for Kilmarnock.
To call for this spending while simultaneously attacking financial decisions on libraries is incoherent. It simply comes across as a typical attempt at Lyons’ political point-scoring. It is these kinds of weak arguments why Conservatives remain irrelevant locally, and the irony of accusing others of not being business-centric whilst making these kinds of comments is not lost on me or other readers, I’m sure.
You have an unnatural fascination in commenting on my posts, most of your comments I must say completely inaccurate. Why not get away from your keyboard once in a while or perhaps stand as a councillor – then you may actually be heard & listened too?
Sorry but Mediterranean plants is what we need with this global warming and so easy to maintain. Thé skate Park and new gardens on West Hove seafront look amazing!
A dead clock, unkept flowers and claims of “heritage” add up to dandelion politics at best, reality seems to have escaped a few heads too many, just more crank media based finger pointing without any FUNDING to maintain this clock anywhere on the horizon, most of these clocks around the country and others from prominent buildings were scrapped years ago, I wonder why ??
The council don’t maintain anything. The pavements and roads are a disgrace, the fortune they spent on valley gardens may as well have been thrown down the clogged up drains. They’re just obsessed with cycle lanes.
How about replacing it with a statue of a typical Hove resident – an angry keyboard warrior, bashing out an email complaining about a newly proposed bike path?
A revamp, meaning they’ll flatten the whole thing, extend the road, and make another unwanted and unused cycle lane. This council is a disgrace.
Gives the council the excuse they’ve been.looking for to remove the memorial the the hostages.