The Royal Standard

This fine Victorian pub in Queen's Road was built c.1857 so no wonder it is showing signs of age.  And, after it was  covered in scaffolding for several months recently, I was looking forward to seeing a splendid restoration job.

I was doomed to disappointment; the only visible difference seems to be the removal of one of the cupolas. Maybe it's just the first stage and it's away being repaired . . .?

Brighton Lifeboat

Brighton Lifeboat crew in all the latest kit 1913. 
Photo: Royal Pavilion and Museums. Brighton.

The Brighton lifeboat station, was established in 1824 in a cave in the cliff near the then new Chain Pier. It is said to be the first in England. no doubt it had to vacate this site with the start of the construction of the great Madeira sea-wall in 1830. Lifeboats then continued to operate from a variety of locations along the seafront ending up at arch no.111 now occupied by Brighton Sailing Club. A now unreadable plaque on the wall between arches 109 & 110 records the Robert Raikes, RNLI lifeboat of 1867 partly financed by pennies collected by Brighton Sunday School children. This arch was vacated in 1932 and for a number of years Brighton was covered by the offshore boats at Shoreham & Newhaven.

In 1965 an RNLI inflatable returned to a station just to the east of the Palace Pier and was removed to a pontoon in the partly-completed Marina in 1976.

Christmas on the Level.

The hole is dug ready for the tree . . . .

New Waitrose for North Hove

SaveHove reports that Waitrose is to acquire the Neville Road, Hove, Co-op Superstore. 

The Co-op will continue to trade at the site until 13th March 2014.  All 80 Co-op employees will be offered the opportunity to become Partners in the John Lewis Partnership.  The branch will then close for about 4 weeks to enable conversion and for employees to receive their inductions as Waitrose Partners.  Additional job creation is planned.  As  I hope everyone knows, all employees are also Partners when they work for Waitrose/The John Lewis Partnership, with a say in how it is run and with a share in profits. Full report here.

Old Town traffic - Public Inquiry result

One of the options presented

The Public Inquiry held in July this year was called by the council to seek independent advice on the balance between the benefits of the council’s proposed ‘Old Town Transport Scheme’ and the interests of the objectors.

After hearing evidence from council officers, residents, businesses, and pedestrian charities, the inspector supported the following proposals:-

• To close the northern-most section of Ship Street.  The Inspector agreed with council officers that closing the stretch of road will dramatically reduce the amount of through traffic in the area which was  a key objective of the project.
• A ban on Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGV) after 11am. This was put forward by many local businesses who told the council that HGVs ruined the character of the area.
• To close the middle part of East Street to all traffic between 11am and 7pm each day would help pedestrians and businesses. 

Council officers will develop proposals for Little East Street further to determine an alternative design for the road. Initial proposals to close a section of Prince Albert Street will also be looked at again once the impact of other measures in the Old Town have been assessed.

 A proposal to close Boyce’s Street to through traffic, supported by businesses, residents and Middle Street School, was agreed before the public inquiry and will go ahead as planned.

The proposals considered by the inspector were drawn up following consultation with residents, businesses and visitors. The scheme follows on from improvements already made to King's Road between Middle Street and Black Lion Street.

 Lead Member for Transport, Ian Davey said: “Our plans for the Old Town proved popular in the public consultation and are similar to improvements seen in historic city centres around the world. They look set to maximise the potential of one the city’s best loved areas by making it more attractive and comfortable for visitors.”

The proposals will go to the Environment, Transport & Sustainability committee for final approval in January. Implementation could begin shortly after that.

Earlier posts:-
Old Town improvements
Old Town improvements update