The Brighton & Hove Wrap - 13th June 2025
Book and film festivals open, plastics recycling update + food bank appeal
Thanks for your patience — The Wrap is back and ready with your weekly digest of local news
🍎Brighton Food Bank has reopened its drop-in space after being delivery-only for the past five years, says Brighton and Hove News.
➡It has also called for support: “Without serious support, Brighton’s oldest and largest food bank could be forced to scale back its operations, leaving many people facing financial crisis without essential support. At this point we aren’t talking about closure, however, if the downturn continues, we could be in trouble.”
♻Looking ahead: from Monday 30th June, the council will collect “plastic pots, tubs and trays” as part of mixed recycling collections. Full details are available on the council’s website.
🏫“Only 16 parliamentary constituencies in the whole country have worse educational outcomes for children eligible for free school meals than Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven,” reports Sussex World. This is according to new research from social mobility non-profit The Sutton Trust.
⚖The average waiting time for a small claims case to be heard at Brighton County Court stretched to 14 months in the first quarter of 2025, according to new data. This is higher than for the same period last year and the national average.
🫡A gathering at the Chattri Memorial on Wednesday marked the 75th annual memorial service for Indian soldiers who died while receiving treatment in Brighton during World War I. Sussex World has photos of the event.
🥁WaterBear College of Music will add three new floors to its headquarters on Queens Road, Brighton, The Argus reports. The expansion includes plans for a drum suite and a 1,000-square-foot recording studio.
🚶Members of the GMB union marched through the city centre this week (Wednesday) in support of equal pay for female employees at the City Council, The Argus writes.
💷Meanwhile, Unison and the council have settled a “long-running” dispute over pay for social workers working in the council’s Adult Social Care services, reports Brighton Journal.
🏦Latest TV has an interview with the city’s new mayor, Amanda Grimshaw, who talks about the four charities she’s chosen for her tenure:
🪧Two separate plans for digital advertising screens — one proposed for Carlton Terrace, Portslade, and the other for the North Laine, Brighton — have been rejected by the council’s planning team, reports Brighton and Hove News.
🚨A 21-year-old Brighton man was jailed this week after he threatened two people with a machete in Dyke Road in April. Brighton and Hove News has the details.
🚨A man has been arrested on suspicion of rape after a member of the public reported that a woman had been raped in Manchester Street around 11am on Saturday (7th). BBC News has the latest.
🌿Local Democracy Reporter Sarah Booker-Lewis has created a map of streets that have opted out of being treated with weedkiller by the council — and reports on streets that have been mistakenly treated.
🎭Open auditions to join the newly formed Palace Pier Performers, a performance group that plans to “revive the end of the pier show in Brighton”, will be held on 1st July, Brighton and Hove News writes.
✊Brighton’s Black Lives Matter branch is organising an evening of community action tonight, from 6-9pm on the Level:
🎬The Brighton Rocks International Film Festival starts next week, running from the 16th to 22nd June.
📚A bookshop crawl has been organised for tomorrow (14th) to celebrate Independent Bookshop Week — thanks to Redditor VisionBreak1297 for the tip.
📖Elsewhere, the Brighton Book Festival starts on 18th June. Here’s the schedule.
🚴♂️It’s the annual London to Brighton Bike Ride this Sunday (15th). According to BBC News: “Southern and Thameslink say customers will not be able to board with non-folding bikes at stations between Brighton and Shoreham-by-Sea, Haywards Heath or Lewes all day.”
🍽Some city restaurant news:
🥩Steakhouse chain Flat Iron is expanding to Brighton with a new branch on Ship Street, Brighton, coming in the autumn, says restaurant.
🍲Preston Road’s Kitgum has launched a crowdfunder as it seeks to move to bigger premises.
🚌FlixBus is opening a new bus route between London and Brighton starting today, reports Secret London.