An old slipper baths which became a children’s nursery is to be turned into 11 flats to be used as temporary housing.
Today (Wednesday 7 October) Brighton and Hove City Council’s Planning Committee approved converting the building at 1 Barrack Yard, off North Road, Brighton, into 11 flats to be let for “affordable rents” – or below market rates.
The proposed flats, in the grade II listed building close to the Prince Regent Swimming Complex, would have two or three bedrooms.
They would be offered to people on the housing register in Brighton and Hove who were homeless or at risk of homelessness while waiting for permanent housing.
Labour councillor Paul Nann, who has spoken about his own experience as a child living in temporary housing, said that he would vote for the scheme 11 times if he could.
Councillor Nann said: “The most heartbreaking pieces of casework we get in our inboxes are from families in temporary accommodation who are overcrowded.
“There isn’t much hope of solving that problem quickly so, with that in mind, there would have to be an absolutely spectacular reason that would provoke me to vote against this. I’ll be voting for it and I’d vote for it 11 times if that was possible.”
Fellow Labour councillor Julie Cattell said that the council desperately needed temporary housing which is the third-highest area of spending in the council budget.
Councillor Cattell said: “A lot of people in need of temporary accommodation are families and women escaping domestic abuse or someone who might have been kicked out of home.
“It’s just sad that the instant knee-jerk reaction is, ‘oh, they’re going to be drug addicts and alcoholics.’ There’s no doubt in my mind that this is going to be great.”
Green councillor Sue Shanks said: “The council does need to build more temporary accommodation because that’s a huge cost. This is a good use of space that we already own.”
Conservative councillor Carol Theobald said that the Old Slipper Baths was a “boring building” which would be much improved.
Councillor Theobald said: “Affordable units – hooray! In a central location. I’m pleased about that.
“Being offered to persons on the housing register – so that’s in temporary accommodation while awaiting permanent housing allocation. It’s marvellous for the homeless and a good use of the building.”
In recent years, the building housed Bright Start Nursery before it was moved to the Tarner Family Hub in 2024.
The Victorian building was originally a barracks before becoming public baths in the 1870s.
The conversion came after the Baths and Washhouses Act 1846 and the Towns Improvement Clauses Act 1847 became law, specifically to encourage the construction of these types of facilities.
By March 1874, the baths had been filled nearly 16,300 times in six months. The cheapest option was a second-class cold bath for 1d (one old penny) and the premium was a first-class warm bath for 6d (two and a half pence).
An 1893 health report said that the slipper baths had improved the health and cleanliness of the working classes.
