The line up of the new Seafront Development Board can be revealed and it includes a representative of Brighton Marina as well as the owner of a landmark building.
Among the other members are the founder of a leading tourism business, an inspector of historic buildings for Historic England and an architect described as one of the profession’s rising stars.
Brighton and Hove City Council announced the 12-strong line up today (Thursday 17 July), having previously announced the chair – former Labour council leader Steve Bassam, also known as Lord Bassam of Brighton.
Lord Bassam chaired a House of Lords select committee that published a widely respected report, “The future of seaside towns”, in 2019. And he was behind the revival of Brighton seafront between the piers in the 1990s after it had become rundown and a no-go area.
The council said: “The new board will help to shape a vision and encourage investment in the city’s iconic seafront.
“Board members will advise on the development, regeneration and management of the seafront as well as help to unlock opportunities for development, investment and community engagement.
“This means it’s crucial the board includes individuals from a range of backgrounds and sectors, with complementary skills, relevant experience and the commitment to lead transformation of the seafront.
“In February, the council started a search for volunteers to join an independent Seafront Development Board to help shape a long-term vision and encourage investment in our seafront.
“There was a fantastic response. More than 90 people applied to be part of the board, leading to a rigorous and competitive selection process.
“The new board brings together accomplished private-sector professionals from a range of sectors including business, development, broadcasting, tourism and urban design.
“And despite representing different sectors, groups, interests or agendas, they will all be ambassadors for the seafront, championing development and promoting its best interests.
“They will bring their knowledge, skills and experience, as well their influence, to find development or funding opportunities and use their individual connections to represent new voices and share the progress of the board.”
Alongside Lord Bassam, 72, the current Labour deputy leader of the council, Jacob Taylor, will serve as the board’s vice-chair. Councillor Taylor, a banker by profession, is the council’s cabinet member for finance and city regeneration.
Here are the new board members.
Rob Sloper, 44, is a senior development director at Landsec U+I, a specialist mixed-use regeneration developer, and owner of Brighton Marina. He has previously been involved in a number of major projects in Brighton and Hove.
Simon Lambor, 35, is a director of Matsim, the Brighton family business that owns the Kingswest building, which houses the Odeon cinema and Pryzm night club on the seafront. His family firm is also renovating the Hippodrome.
Alma Howell is an inspector of historic buildings and areas for Historic England, one of the council’s key heritage partners. She is a town planner by background and has previously worked for the South Downs National Park Authority and Mid Sussex District Council.
Georgia Collard-Watson, 36, is principal associate architect at Grimshaw Global, with extensive experience in infrastructure and transport projects. She was named a “RIBA Journal Rising Star”.
Pete Tyler, 64, is a retired travel executive. He was the founder of Neilson Holidays, a leading outdoor tourism business which was long based at Brighton Marina, and a long-term Kemp Town resident.
Juliet Sargeant, 59, is an award-winning garden designer and author and the first black female gardener to exhibit at the Chelsea Flower Show, winning an RHS Gold Medal. She lives in Rottingdean, runs the Sussex Garden School and is a regular presenter on BBC Gardeners World.
Carolyn Jikiemi-Roberts, 64, is a successful small-business owner, having established the Hot South Yoga Studio in Portslade in 2008.
Alastair Hignell, 69, is a former England rugby international, BBC presenter and charity patron, who lives in Kemp Town and now runs a group called Walk the Talk which does weekly wheelchair tours and visits to the seafront.
The board also includes two other Labour councillors, whose appointment had been announced previously.
Birgit Miller, 62, is the council’s cabinet member for culture, heritage and tourism. And Julie Cattell, 69, a former chair of the council’s Planning Committee and currently the council’s lead member for major projects.
The council added: “While it’s important that the board consider the seafront as a whole, the early focus will be on the area between the Palace Pier and the Marina.
“They must look at options for the future of Black Rock, securing investment for the next phases of the Madeira Terrace restoration and seafront maintenance work.
“They will also consider the infrastructure around it, making connections with businesses and other developments and learning from other seafront towns and cities.”
Lord Bassam, who brings extensive experience in local government and national regeneration policy to the board, said: “Brighton and Hove seafront is our shop window. It’s vital to our identity, economy, quality of life and global recognition.
“To secure the city’s future as a leading international visitor destination, we need to think differently, work in a new way and consider all ideas to grow economic opportunities and improve the offer to visitors.
“I’d like to see us encourage more business, showcase fantastic arts and culture and enable sport and leisure opportunities.
“The passion, talent and commitment of the individuals who applied to be part of the board was incredible.
“It was really tough to narrow it down but I’m proud of the mix of talented individuals who will be coming with me on this journey.
“The board is an exciting opportunity for us to look across the whole seafront in a cohesive way.
“Together, we will help drive forward a plan for the seafront to ensure it’s a vibrant, accessible and economically thriving destination for residents, visitors and businesses for years to come.”
Councillor Taylor said: “We want a seafront we can be proud of but the council can’t bring that vision to life on our own.
“That’s where the Seafront Development Board comes in – to facilitate change, encourage investment and represent voices from across the city and beyond.
“The council has moved forward some fantastic projects in recent years, including the work at Black Rock, Madeira Terrace and Hove Beach Park, as well as what’s set to come for the King Alfred.
“The board needs to look across the entirety of the seafront – from Saltdean to Portslade – to consider how the seafront is connected and ensure it provides exciting opportunities and the right offer.
“It’s been a privilege to receive such a huge interest from local residents and business in being part of this.
“The strength and number of applications was impressive and the skills, experience and commitment the applications have showcased are what really sets this city apart from others.
“I want to thank everyone who applied and I know those who have not been appointed will be disappointed but I hope they will still be part of transforming our beloved seafront with us.”
One of the new board members Simon Lambor, said: “I’m delighted to have been appointed to the board.
“We have been investing in the city for over 40 years now and in more recent years this has focused on some of the important heritage assets.
“It is only by bringing the local community on board with these projects that you can ensure that they progress smoothly and in the right direction.
“We would hope that our experience in dealing with the consents for the Brighton Hippodrome will assist in this endeavour.”
The council’s cabinet is due to meet next Thursday (24 July) when members are expected to agree formally to the establishment of the board, its terms of reference and the appointment of Lord Bassam and Councillor Taylor to their positions.
The first meeting is expected to hold its first meeting in the autumn.
So a Labour council sets up a board to look primarily at the seafront in a Labour constituency which will include FOUR Labour councillors alongside former Labour councillor Steve Bassam and it will have zero representation from any other political party in the city?
What’s worse is ZERO community representation. Is this board going to be paid for out of public money? This is actually quite shocking.
Its voluntary and advisory
Community groups generally stick to being apolitical.
Hopefully this board will help with making the seafronts from Saltdean to Portslade more appealing especially to look at and a bit more maintained and attractive. We can only hope.
Maybe they could start by sorting out and reinstating the lift on marine parade that has been out of action for far too long. Meaning that residents and visitors who are wheelchair users or have limited mobility can access the marine parade with ease.
Although with the guy that’s been elected that owns the building for Odeon & Prism being part of the board. Is quite worrying. Considering how long the cinema and nightclub were out of action for not long back when the structure and safety of the building was deemed unsafe…
a new 24/7/365 lift is being built now and will be ready for use next year
Whatever the makeup of the board it should not have de facto decision making. Residents have elected councillors to represent them. Anybody can submit ideas and thoughts on the seafront to them and they should have the final say. We can not allow our seafront to be carved up by business interests wrapped up as development that turns our heritage into a blot on the landscape.
they advise not decide
It’s positive that they will be starting with East Brighton for a change. Maybe they can decide to ditch the new gun towers on Madeira Terrace, move Concorde to a purpose built venue at Black Rock and return the existing site back to a multi use visitor centre and cafe with a functioning Victorian lift. One or two appointees should probably be concentrating on their own issues, particularly the disaster that is the marina and the plug ugly Odeon building. So long as this panel is free of cost to taxpayers I wish them well.
Its voluntary
Including his lordship?
Yes.
This makes the council’s intentions clear. It should be renamed the Seafront Developer Board.
Someone said the board will likely be full of developer skills, rather than community groups, because it fits the remit better. What I hope though, is that the board would perfectly be reasonable to include participatory design in their activities with those interested groups.
No surprises here. This is obviously about developing the seafront for profit, not about acting in the best interests of our historic Regency city and sensitively cultivating its legacy for future generations, which should be a wholly apolitical process Not a single community representative on this Labour-heavy Committee from the Chair onwards. They should have appointed Jax Atkins as Chair. It is deeply worrying what they are doing to the Grade II* Listed Madeira Terraces. They seem to be in the process of replacing them with an ‘abstraction’ of the original and some incredibly unsympathetic modern lift shafts more akin to an office block.
Anyone else recall when the railings, shelters and lamp posts got looked after and painted every year ready for the ‘season’ as a matter of course WITHOUT a Seafront Board? We even had award-winning flower beds. Let’s hope this cosy club’s first job is to tackle all the shocking neglect of basic maintenance and all the missing railings, seats and other structures and furniture on the seafront. Perhaps they can also crack the whip reinstating our famous iconic seafront lanterns, unique-to-Brighton, which got sent away for ‘restoration’ several years ago and never came back, some of them ending up for sale on Facebook Marketplace!
Heritage lantern installation of restored lanterns starts in the Autumn.
No representatives from communities or independent or opposition councillors ! No social media presence, No scrutiny. No feedback. Another year of no decision on Black Rock
Bankers, Property developers at least 5 Labour Party members. No community representation at all , it seems that B&H LP is as corrupt & controlling as the current government.
Let’s hope their ruling days are as numbered as Starmer’s.
they advise not decide
Well Elaine you have another 4 year before you can go and vote for the clowns that gave us Brexit, until then please kindly shush and let the rest of us get on with our lives without being outraged at absolutely nothing
You should read the article carefully Elaine, before being performatively outraged. You look kinda silly when you make basic mistakes like that.
Brighton has huge potential to become a top city—better than it already is—because we can preserve all our heritage and Regency buildings while also building new, modern residential areas, hotels, and shopping districts, in places like the Gas Works, Black Rock, and the Marina. The Madeira Terraces could be lined with shops, bars, and restaurants—perhaps even car-free. This would be an amazing addition to the seafront, especially with new hotels included of highly quality design.
Personally, I would like to see old hotels, like the Leonard Hotel, replaced with something big and modern as for the part of the Albion Hotel that has been burnt down—why not turn that into a new high-rise hotel? modern skyscrapers of architectural brilliance would look amazing along the seafront.
Get rid of the odean and Brighton centre and build something truly spectacular, a massive extension of the mall with hotels and apartments and possibly a new Brighton centre.
I would also love to see a monorail along the seafront, connecting all the major destinations, so visitors could hop on and off in a matter of minutes to reach each location
Oh and definitely some green spaces, palm tree lined roads would be beautiful.
At the very least the volks should run into the marina
I love the idea that the Volks runs all the way along the South Coast and used a a pusedo tram service.
pusedo please fun speaking with forked tongues again
Even Volks agree that is not possible
Developing the Volks into the Marina is definitely possible, but maybe there’s a better way, like a short shuttle from the Black Rock terminus into the Marina.
The Green Wall and English Heritage do not allow shops in the Madeira Terraces Arches. Pop ups can however and more events .
Even Volks agree that is not possible