Sauna customers could inadvertently moon seafront passers-by, councillors fear

The lack of changing facilities at a seafront sauna could expose passers-by to being inadvertently “mooned”, according to councillors.

Rockwater in Kingsway, Hove, has been granted planning permission to replace three beach hut style food and drink kiosks with saunas.

Some neighbours were worried about pollution because the plans initially proposed timber-fired saunas.

But members of Brighton and Hove City Council’s Planning Committee were told yesterday (Wednesday 4 March) that each sauna would now contain an electric sauna heater.

And rather than one building with three pitched rooves and a changing space and lockers, the saunas would now be in separate huts in keeping with the style of the existing huts and the familiar look of the wider seafront.

Conservative councillor Carol Theobald said that she regularly used the kiosks but accepted that saunas were a current popular health kick.

Councillor Theobald said: “I can imagine all these people in bathrobes walking through the restaurant. On the whole, it’s a trend at the moment. It might not last but it’s a good thing.”

Brighton and Hove Independent councillor Mark Earthey asked whether people would be walking to and fro in their bathrobes.

He said: “I just rather fear what Councillor Theobald has said. I’m rather frightened that, with all these people wandering around with bathrobes, when there’s an unfortunate gust of wind, we’re all going to get ‘mooned’.”

At the meeting at Hove Town Hall, Green councillor Sue Shanks asked how the business could operate without changing rooms and showers.

She was told that customers would only be able to use a sauna when Rockwater was open and they would use the customer toilets as changing rooms.

Councillor Shanks said: “It’s very noisy, Rockwater. I do go there sometimes.

“It is a sort of creep that we’re getting a lot of private stuff along there and therefore it’s less available to people to just go to the beach without seeing assorted commercial operations.”

Labour councillor Joy Robinson supported the commercialisation of the seafront.

Councillor Robinson said: “We do need the extra income. We need the money to fund renovating our railings and our shelters. I’m not saying that this is doing that but we need more commercialisation.”

Nine councillors voted in favour of the application by Rockwater which is owned by Luke Davis, 47, and Luke Jacobs, 38. Councillor Shanks abstained.