The Brighton & Hove Wrap - 27th June 2025
Tower blocks demolition proposal, schools in the red + paddling pool to reopen
🌤🌤🌤Happy Friday and welcome to your weekly Wrap 🌤🌤🌤
🏢A report to be seen by the council in July recommends the demolition of eight council-owned tower blocks in Brighton for safety reasons, reports ITV News and The Argus.
➡The recommended buildings are: Dudeney Lodge and Nettleton Court in Hollingdean; Falcon Court, Heron Court, Kestrel Court, Kingfisher Court and Swallow Court in north Whitehawk; and St James's House in Kemp Town.
🏗Council plans to revamp Elder Place, Providence Place and St Peter’s Place “to make them more welcoming” feature in Brighton and Hove News. The public consultation is open until 5th August.
🍺Brewery Brighton Bier ceased trading in the past fortnight and is now selling off its equipment and assets in an online auction (The Drinks Business).
🏫Schools in the city will have to submit monthly accounts during term-time “because more than half ended the past financial year in the red”, writes local democracy reporter Sarah Booker-Lewis.
➡“A report to Brighton and Hove City Council’s Schools Forum meeting (…) showed a deficit of £2.9 million at the end of the 2024-25 financial year.”
🌳The winner and shortlisted entries of the Tree Festival Photographic Competition are now on display at Jubilee Library.
❗After moving customer service desks from two town hall sites and into the city’s libraries last month, the council has had to cut the service’s hours owing to a lack of staff availability. Sarah Booker-Lewis reports.
🚫In The Argus, the council has refused a planning application for a new phone mast on Dyke Road, at the top of The Upper Drive, Hove.
🚨A man has been charged with indecent exposure following an incident on Hove beach on Saturday 21st June, says Sussex Police.
🚨A man has also been arrested and charged with rape in Dorset Gardens, Brighton, on Sunday 22nd, according to the police.
🚧Work on a new 24-hour lift on Madeira Terrace has started. Brighton and Hove News has the details.
♻The Green Centre on Facebook has a breakdown of what you’ll be able to recyle from Monday (30th) as kerbside recycling rules change to incorporate more plastics.
🧶Can you knit or crochet? Residents are being asked to yarn-bomb the city with red roses ahead of the Women’s Rugby World Cup in September, reports BBC News.
🏖The King’s Road paddling pool on the seafront will reopen at the start of July, writes Brighton and Hove News. The council had previously indicated that the pool would not open this summer owing to repairs and works on the A259.
🚲Free e-bike taster sessions will be held in Hove Park next Friday (5th) to encourage more women to cycle in the city. Full details of how to sign up are here.
⚽Brighton & Hove Albion’s new megastore at the AMEX stadium opens next week (Wednesday 2nd July).
👖River Island’s Brighton store will close by January next year as part of restructuring plans (this from Derby World which lists Brighton in a piece about 33 stores closing).
🏥Councillor Mitchie Alexander, ward councillor for Coldean & Stanmer, is taking a leave of absence after open heart surgery, says the council.
🪕Guitarist magazine features interviews with the team behind Hobgoblin Music, which has launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise money to keep its bricks-and-mortar stores — including its site on Queens Road, Brighton.
📅Dates for your diary:
🎤Latest TV talks to Glen Richardson (one half of the wonderful Keyboard Karaoke duo, Gus and Glen) ahead of his one-man Live Aid show at BOAT on 13th July:
🏃♂️Brighton’s Race for Life takes place this weekend. The main race starts in Stanmer Park on Sunday, but there will be events across the weekend, according to Yahoo News.
🎶The Friday night line-up for September’s Boundary festival in Stanmer Park has been announced, including Gorgon City and Ross from Friends, says Skiddle.
🥅Whitehawk FC has its annual volunteer weekend this Saturday and Sunday (28th and 29th) to help the club prepare for next season:
➡“You’ll be joining First Team Manager Shaun Saunders and members of the Men’s First Team Squad to take on a range of essential jobs around the ground – from painting, fixing and cleaning, to building and general maintenance.”
⚽Whitehawk Women’s open training sessions also begin next week on Wednesday 2nd:
