The Brighton & Hove Wrap - 22nd November 2024
Madeira Terrace restoration works begin, food waste collections announced + a youth takeover at Phoenix
🐖 Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour is having issues selling Medina House, the six-bedroom property on Hove seafront, according to reports. An “incredibly rare” admin error means the house is actually owned by the Crown.
♻ Brighton & Hove will get food waste collections from next year. Brighton and Hove News has the update.
➡ On a related topic, Sussex Bylines has this feature exploring Brighton & Hove’s cafes and restaurants’ commitment to sustainability.
👷♀️ Work to restore Madeira Terrace has begun, starting with the East Cliff Wall and Green Wall. The aim is to complete the bulk of the restoration work by summer 2026. “During the restoration work, parking bays between Royal Crescent Steps and Concorde 2/Madeira Shelter Hall will be removed,” reports the BBC, who shared this report via BBC Sussex.
🦠 “I want to cry. We came home and they’re crawling up the walls and on the ceiling.” Tenants of Whitehawk’s Kingfisher Court have raised concerns that the latest bedbug infestation is nothing new. Sarah Booker-Lewis’ report for Brighton and Hove News has comments from residents shared with councillors suggesting the problem stretches back as far as 2020.
🏆 While we’re featuring Sarah’s reporting, congratulations are due: she won an award at the national Local Democracy Reporting Service Awards this week for her election coverage.
👶 Royal Sussex County Hospital will have its birthing pool reinstated thanks to new funds, says the BBC. The pool was decommissioned in July and will return in 6-8 weeks reportedly.
🚸 West Hove Infant School and Hove Junior School are considering joining an academy trust, which would move them outside of local authority control; the council doesn’t want them to.
➡ In other education news, The Argus reports on the closure of Homewood College, a special needs college, by the end of the year.
🎨 A youth takeover starts at the Phoenix this weekend until 1st December. In the creative programme led by and designed for 13-25 year olds expect sessions on smartphone photography and zine making.
🎻 Brighton New Early Music Festival has announced two new co-directors, soprano Hannah Ely and recorder player Olwen Foulkes. The 2024 festival ran in October.
🏮 ‘Voyager’ will be the theme for this year’s Burning of the Clocks. The event is celebrating its 30th year on 21st December.
🚓 Sussex Police has launched an appeal for information following a hate crime attack in Queens Road, Brighton. Two men were subjected to homophobic abuse and punched in the face in the incident that took place near the station after an on-the-beach music event on 7th June.
🛒 Success for sustainable supermarket Kindly on Dyke Road in Seven Dials: its founder Shiv Mishra was named South East Retail Entrepreneur of the Year at the Great British Entrepreneur Awards on Monday, Sussex World reports.
🔥 The council says it’s offering extra financial support this winter to people of pensionable age in Brighton & Hove who are struggling to pay energy bills. Full details of how to apply and who is eligible are available on the council’s website.
🚆 The Thameslink line between St Pancras International and Herne Hill will be closed between 25-29th December for works so expect diversions or seek a different route if travelling from Brighton & Hove.
🎅 A couple of Christmas events for your weekend diary: a Christmas craft market at Exeter Street Hall on Sunday and a Winter Makers Fair at The British Engineerium in Hove on Saturday and Sunday.
🎄 The first-ever Christmas tree in the Royal Pavilion Garden has gone up - a 22ft Nordmann fir to join the 16 trees inside the building.
💡 Whether you love Christmas or loathe it, this update from @imjustbrighton on Instagram means you can tour the city’s Christmas lights without leaving your seat.
