A potential five-year lease is on the cards for a company to run cultural events as part of a temporary plan for Black Rock.
Brighton and Hove City Council’s cabinet is due to discuss its “Black Rock Future Vision” when it meets on Thursday (15 October) but the identities of two “preferred bidders” has been kept secret.
The two were shortlisted from four organisations that applied to take on the long-vacant site – once an outdoor swimming pool – for up to five years.
One bidder has proposed a temporary active leisure and sports facility with padel, fitness, a mental health programme and food and drink. The proposal does not require any further investment from the council.
A report to cabinet said that the preferred bidder offered good social value by combining physical activity with mental health programming.
The report said: “Officers concluded that the proposal offered the strongest overall combination of deliverability, financial return and community benefit while meeting the objectives established for the meanwhile-use opportunity.
“The proposal achieved the highest overall assessment outcome and is supported by an experienced delivery partner.
“In social value terms, it offers an opportunity to use sport as a route into improved physical and mental wellbeing, stronger social connections and wider participation.
“It also provides a platform for partnership working with local communities and services and for creating employment, skills and volunteering pathways linked to the operation of the site.”
The second bidder proposes a public beach hub and events space, with food and drink.
In the future, the council wants to create a “landmark coastal destination” at the former swimming pool site, with a focus on culture, leisure and recreation.
Earlier this year, the council published a “seafront prospectus” signalling the scale of its ambition for the site, featuring an art gallery, with the report to the council’s cabinet suggesting that longer-term use could include a recreation-led development.
The report said: “Central to that vision is an ambition to create a nationally and internationally recognised cultural destination, including a major visual arts offer, with work already under way to explore potential gallery partnerships, investment opportunities and future funding streams.
“Any meanwhile use must therefore remain flexible and capable of adapting to, and supporting, this longer-term transformation of the site.”
Potential funding is being sought for future use including Arts Council England programmes, the National Lottery and other philanthropic sponsorship.
So far, the council has spent £18 million on enabling works which have included realigning and extending the sea wall and coastal defences as well as creating a boardwalk and refurbishing the Volk’s Railway station and toilets.
The council’s cabinet is due to meet at 10.30am at Hove Town Hall on Thursday 15 October. The meeting is scheduled to be webcast.
