Plans to remodel the toilets in Pavilion Gardens and re-landscape the gardens are going before councillors next week.
Brighton and Hove City Council’s Planning Committee is advised to grant planning permission and listed building consent for the work to the grade II listed gardens.
The application was due to go before the committee in May, but was withdrawn shortly before the meeting after council leader Bella Sankey asked for clearer designs showing how 24-hour access can be maintained.
New drawings submitted in June, show how the wooden gates by the India Gate entrance to the south and the King William IV gate to the north will remain.
Proposed gates for the Princes Place and New Road entrances have been removed, with bollards planned for the Princes Place area to prevent unauthorised vehicles entering the gardens.
One of the objectors to closing the gardens, Living Streets Brighton and Hove has welcomed the move to keep the entrances, however, the organisation is still opposing the proposed 7ft (2.1m) railings facing New Road and Old Steine.
Since the changes a commenter supporting the application has raised concerns about the 24-hour access as the gardens are on Historic England’s “at risk” register.
The commenter, whose details are removed on the council’s website, said: “I am very concerned and perplexed as to why the gates are no longer included.
“Installing gates does not mean that the public will be prevented from going to the garden.
“Rather gates will help to protect the newly restored gardens at night time when much of the vandalism, arson and other anti-social behaviours occur.
“It will also help keep members of the public safe from serious harm, by diverting people away from the gardens to use the well-lit and busier roads that surround the area.”
Another objector to 24-hour access said: “I cannot understand the resistance to closing the Pavilion Gardens for a few hours late at night.
“The Southover Gardens in Lewes and the Kipling Gardens in Rottingdean are closed at night as are most London gardens.
“The Pavilion team have worked so hard to secure this funding, it would seem irresponsible to invest so much money on this development, and then leave it open to constant abuse by late-night revellers, drug abusers etc who are the real users of the gardens in the early hours.”
Seating facing New Road would be removed to make way for ornamental fencing.
The proposals include remodelling the existing toilet block into a Changing Places accessible toilet and separate gender-neutral cubicles facing the listed gardens.
The new building would include a kiosk, an accessible toilet, in addition to the Changing Places toilet, a baby change cubicle and three individual toilets.
An outdoor learning area is also proposed next to the Brighton Dome building.
Modern trees and hedges would be removed under the plans which are intended to restore the original views created by the Royal Pavilion’s architect, John Nash.
The Royal Pavilion and Museums Trust secured £4.4 million from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to revamp the Pavilion Gardens and public toilets.
The Planning Committee is due to meet at Hove Town Hall from 11am on Wednesday, 8 August. The meeting is scheduled for webcast on the council website.
The thing about fences is that they discourage young women as they can be trapped within. Enclosed spaces are often by their nature a discouraging aspect for women. Perhaps this should be taken into consideration?
This is well documented here is one study
https://nclurbandesign.org/make-space-more-welcoming-to-adolescent-girls/
That’s a very good point
From what I frequently hear about deterrents to ASB and criminal behaviours is an increase in visual policing. The classic bobby on the beat.
Removing the seating in New Road will hopefully get rid of the drunks, but one thing lacking within the Pavilion Gardens is seating for the public, who are not using the open air cafe.
The committee meeting at 11:00 next Wednesday is 7th August, not 8th.
This article once again repeats the point that the Pavilion Gardens are on the Historic England list as being ‘at risk’.
That emotive term ‘at risk’ is often used to play on exaggerated fears that our beloved city centre gardens are somehow over run with vandals, especially at night, and therefore one logical solution is to fence off the gardens and to close off the park at night.
But it’s worth pointing out that Historic England actually said the gardens were a victim of their own popularity, and the ‘at risk’ element was that those in charge of the grounds were reacting to situations like waste management and garden maintenance issues on a day to day basis, but without an overall long term plan or vision.
They mentioned the confusing signage and how the second rubbish bins placed next to older bins didn’t match, in terms of their visual design. The current fencing comes up as an issue because there are several mismatched sections of it, including that rather nice old stone wall on the east side, which wraps around the eastern lawns and the small ponds there.
So it’s good news that the Pavilion has gained funding to sort out these design issues but let’s not forget this is a public city centre park for all to enjoy. If you are one of those people reading this article and believing the lie that the gardens are unsafe at night, then I suggest you take a walk there in the evening, especially in this lovely summer weather.
In dry weather the gardens are a lovely place to sit and chat with friends, and the Pavilion itself is all lit up at night.
We surely don’t want the gardens fenced off and locked up at night – just because the people who don’t ever go there have decided that’s a good idea. .
100% agree, great post.
I find policing can help and that way it would not be changed I feel this city has been hijacked and the people don’t matter