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| The main Hanningtons site |
Redevco acquired the majority of the site in 2015 and an adjacent mixed-use property at the end of last year, taking the total amount invested in Brighton to £72 million.
Andrew Foulds, Portfolio Director at Redevco comments, “We are creating a new Lane, a new entrance to the historic Lanes from North Street and are redeveloping existing buildings on North Street, to provide exciting new spaces for shops, restaurants and cafes. The vision is to blend a visually unique and engaging scheme into the existing network of narrow alleyways, lanes, eclectic boutiques, restaurants and cafes/bars that already make Brighton so popular."
“We also have an opportunity to invest substantially in the quality of the buildings on North Street and our Masterplan approach should provide a catalyst for the whole area.”
The design incorporates local materials and will reveal the historic Puget’s Cottage, currently hidden behind the Timpsons shop front on North Street, for the first time in 140 years.
Westridge Construction has been appointed as main contractor and architect Morgan Carn Partnership has created a pioneering and unique scheme, which blends the history and character of the Lanes, with the needs of modern retailers.
Construction work will initially focus on the rear of the scheme, enabling existing retailers to continue trading with minimum disruption.
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| The site of Hanningtons Lane where work has begun |
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| Access from Meeting House Lane now prohibited |
I’ll likely be seen as speaking for the ‘sock and sandal brigade’ so clearly disapproved of in the comments to date, but here goes anyway.
ReplyDeleteThe article says the project will, ‘reveal the historic Puget’s Cottage, currently hidden behind the Timpsons, for the first time in 140 years.’
Yes, the project will reveal Puget’s Cottage but this building has not been hidden from North Street views for just the last 140 years. the old Timpsons shop which is to be demolished to provide the view of the cottage was built in the 18th C and is a very rare surviving example of architecture from the period when Brighton first began to develop as a resort town. As such far more effort should have been made to save Timpsons and establish the entrance to the new Lane adjacent to old shop.
The developers, the local Council, English Heritage (now Historic England) and the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government all rolled over on this structure and are responsible for the city loosing a precious historic asset.
I welcome the new lane and most of the redevelopment planned as a part of the project but Timpsons was a step too far - an ignorant decision removing an important part of Brighton’s development story.
For those who think of Timpson’s as a wreck that offers us little, consider what it would be like restored to its 18th C finish. If you have a little imagination, you might just see the light!