Stanmer Park restoration starts

Toad's Hole Valley proposals

Illustrative master plan

An outline planning application BH2018/03633 for the development of Toad's Hole Valley has been filed. It proposes: 880 much-needed dwellings; a secondary school; office/research/light industry units; a doctors' surgery community building, and public open space (including for food growing and play space).

It also includes  enhancements and alterations to the Site of Nature Conservation Interest to the east of the site and associated landscaping.

The most controversial proposal seems likely to be  the suburbanisation of King George VI Avenue.  Nearly all A23, A27 traffic destined for Hove and Portslade funnels down this road.  The 3 light-controlled vehicular accesses is a welcome reduction from the 7 suggested earlier for the development. This will still result in some rush hour delays but in the search for new housing maybe this is just one of the trade-offs the city has to accept.

Comments can be filed up until the application goes before the planning committee in the spring.

Brighton Story 1955

Patcham Mill

The listed Patcham (or Waterhall) Mill has been beautifully restored over the last decade or so. It is good to know its future as a landmark is assured.

The most picturesque view of it would be from the south-west with the Green Ridge dewpond in the foreground. Unfortunately this view is ruined by an insensitively sited noticeboard.

Extract from My Brighton & Hove:- 

"Waterhall Mill is now more commonly known as Patcham Mill . A tower-mill built in 1884-5 for baker Joseph Harris, it was the last working windmill to be erected in Sussex and continued to grind corn until 1924; part of its machinery came from the old Preston Mill. It was sold for just £50 in 1928 and was converted into a house in 1936, but it was used by the Home Guard during the war before reverting to private use in 1950. The mill, which has a rendered tower forty feet tall, was completely modernised in 1975 with new sweeps, and is now a desirable residence and listed building."

Funding bid for Stanmer

B&H City Council and the South Downs National Park Authority, have submitted a bid for £5.9 million to the Heritage Lottery Fund to restore Stanmer’s historic farm buildings and bring them back into use.

The council is leading on plans for the Stanmer Park and Estate Restoration Project which has the aim is to restore the park’s landscape and buildings, protect natural features and encourage wildlife. A separate bid of £6 million was submitted to the 'Parks for People' fund in the summer to carry out improvements and restorations in the rest of the park.

There are 27 listed buildings in this park, from the big house to the village cottages. At the heart of the estate lie 18 agricultural buildings dating from the 18th and 19th centuries. These are in urgent need of restoration and currently closed to the public. They include include cattle shelters, a dovecote dating back to 1615, a dairy, an 18th century walled garden and a Grade 2 Sussex Long Barn. Together they tell the story of farming in this part of the South Downs over the past 250 years.

Inside the barn

Plans include a new visitor centre and a base for the South Downs National Park Authority’s local ranger team.

If approved, the funding would be spent in a five year investment programme estimated at £11.9 million, starting with drawing up detailed designs with the help of the public and partners. Development work would begin in February which is when the outcome of the bid is expected.

Fencing for Patcham Place

An application SDNP/14/03236/FUL to the South Downs National Park Authority to fence the immediate surroundings of Patcham Place has been approved. The green line in the map above indicates the line of the fencing which will be made of mild steel in a traditional estate style. Traditionally wrought iron would have been used but this is no longer commercially available.

There is no evidence that Patcham Place was ever provided with gates but the proposed design is borrowed from existing 18thC examples and is typical of that which would have been used by the provincial gentry. They will be hung from piers of Portland stone with inset panels of knapped flint.

The installation of fencing has been prompted by:- 

• uncontrolled vehicle parking by third parties whether commuters or users of the adjacent public park and sports pitches.
• the lack of any perimeter control at night and hence the ability of vehicles to gain free access to the immediate vicinity of the building. 
• recurrent problems of lead thefts from the roof and the resultant costs and potential for serious damage to the fabric of the listed building. 

Previous post: Patcham Place proposals.

Council to open farmland to public

The Downs near Patcham

More than 800 acres of farmland owned by Brighton and Hove City Council will be opened to the public indefinitely.

The council said it had owned land around the city, in Ditchling Road, Old Patcham Court Farm and Plumpton, for many years.

However, there has been limited access for visitors.

The Green-led administration said it had negotiated public access with farmers who currently have tenancies on the land.

Councillor Pete West said: "Downland is a wonderful resource and now these areas owned by the city will be open in perpetuity to walkers, sightseers, birdwatchers, runners, and others looking to enjoy it."

Horsdean traveller site

This piece of land, formerly part of the Brighton Rugby Club playing field, was quickly colonised by travellers when the A27 Brighton bypass was opened in 1996. Over the following two years the number of caravans rose to over 180 and the situation became quite chaotic.  In 1998 the Council sent in the bailiffs and the travellers scattered throughout the City leaving behind an indescribable mess.  The Council then drew up proposals for a legal transit site, and opposition of local residents crumbled when the Government refused a public enquiry in December that year.

A permanent site, with drainage and toilet facilities and hard-standing for 23 caravans, was opened in September 1999. Occupants had to prove a need to stay in the area, were charged £40 per week and  limited to 6 months stay at any one time.

In 2002 the travellers received a £2000 grant from the Scarman trust for play equipment. In 2005 the Council was awarded £159,000 from a Government grant to help towards an upgrade of the site including provision of an electricity supply. In 2009 the rent was increased to £60 per week and occupants were limited to 1 months stay with a possible extension to 3 months if their plot wasn't needed.

The site was vandalised in 2008 and again in 2009 and had to be closed for repairs. In 2011, 24 hour security was provided at a cost to the taxpayer of £85,000 per year.

There are now proposals to extend the site northwards by adding a further 16 pitches dedicated to long-stay "travellers" who will have to supply evidence of close ties with the neighbourhood. The whole site is now in the South Downs National Park, the Authority for which will have to give planning permission. They have asked for two other sites to be reported on for comparison: Waterhall Farm and Hangleton Bottom.

Brighton has long operated a somewhat tolerant attitude towards travellers, reinforced in recent years by the Human Rights Act, but all efforts will only scratch at the problem unless other councils in the South East make similar efforts.

Comment on the City Council's 'New Traveller Commissioning Strategy 2012' here.

Greens call for National Park office

On Friday, 1st April 2011 the South Downs National Park Authority officially took over the running of the Park and the project that had ebbed & flowed for over 50 years became reality.

In their election manifesto the Brighton & Hove Green Party have recognised the importance of this event for residents and visitors alike by declaring their intention to:-

" Provide an office for the South Downs National Park in the city as a source of information and starting point for visits to the Park."

Many people think that the ideal location for this office would be Council-owned Patcham Place situated at Brighton's gateway to the Downs and on the main London to Brighton Road.

Although it might be uneconomic to use the main building, this project could provide the impetus to restore and convert to a sympathetic use the old stable buildings at the rear of the house, at present looking sadly neglected. 

Other related items in the Green's manifesto are:-

• Designate all council owned land as Open
Access Land.
• Develop a city centre Downland Interpretation
Centre.
• Promote health and economic benefits of tourism
in the South Downs National Park.

See also:- Brighton & Hove News: New authority takes control of South Downs National Park

The Dyke Steep Grade Railway

This railway operated from 1897 to 1908, enabling visitors to the Dyke to descend the steep north flank of the Downs to the west of Poynings Village and, probably more importantly, ascend again to take the conventional Brighton to Dyke railway back home. In those days the transport from Poynings to Brighton was probably rather limited. The gradient here is as steep as 1 in 1.5 in some places. The remains of a  platform can be found at the top of the hill and the track of the railway can still be discerned when viewed from below.

The use of the funicular system, in which one car provides a counterweight to the other, dates from at least the 16th century but there was a big surge in their construction in the latter half of the 19th. Throughout the UK about a dozen still remain in operation, including, in Sussex, the West Cliff at Hastings. This provides easy access from the promenade to Hastings Castle. The Hastings East Cliff railway closed only recently.

Sustainable Brighton

The annual Sustainable Cities Index, produced by Forum for the Future ranks Britain’s 20 largest cities according to social, economic and environmental performance. To do this it measures 13 indicators in three broad baskets:

• Environmental impact – the city’s impact in terms of resource use and pollution;
• Quality of life – what the city is like for people to live in;
• Future-proofing – how well the city is preparing for a sustainable future

Brighton from being top in 2007 is still hanging on in the top 3 notwithstanding that, on environmental performance, it has the worst ecological footprint of any city, as the chart below shows.

Ecological footprint is the impact of food and other consumer goods, housing, transport (including air travel), and private and public services on the environment (using 2006 data). The impact is measured by the amount of global land needed to sustain each resident of the local authority. The ecological footprint takes into account the impact of products produced in other areas or countries but consumed in the local authority while at the same time it excludes the impact of goods, services and energy manufactured or generated in the local authority and exported to other countries of the world.  Brighton has an Eco Footprint score of only 1, whereas Hull, bottom in the overall ranking has an eco score of 15. It seems therefore that Brighton is the victim of its own economic success and despite improvements in the energy efficiency of its housing, its high-consumption lifestyle is making a disproportionate demand on the global environment.

Biodiversity  is measured by the percentage of local nature sites that have undergone conservation management during the five-year period 2004/5 – 2009/10. It may be that this measure will already be improving as a result of the Council's efforts to return the Wild Park to original downland and the introduction of grazing to other areas of downland bordering the City.

Whitehawk Hill

Only just over a mile from the Clock Tower and nearly 400 foot above sea level is a remnant of downland which offers an unrivalled viewpoint over the City & Bay of Sussex.  In the near distance can be seen the greenery surrounding the railway cutting that served the Kemptown goods station. Hidden at the north end of the cutting lies one end of the tunnel that emerges alongside the Elm Grove primary school. The south end of the tunnel is used for storage, the Elm Grove end is blocked off. What a waste of a good tunnel! 


Whitehawk HIll  includes a neolithic enclosure which was the first Scheduled Ancient monument in Sussex and is a relic of ancient habitat designated a Local Nature Reserve (LNR) with areas of species-rich chalk grassland supporting colonies of Adonis and Chalkhill Blue butterflies. Yet little is made of the site  by the City. One suspects it is rarely visited and, instead of being cherished and protected as a unique beauty spot  it has been largely ignored; or spoilt with unsympathetic encroachments, by a succession of seemingly uncaring Councils. 


I wonder how many past or present Councillors have ever walked the short distance of the western flank along Whitehawk Hill Road at sunset; or visited the site at all to see how it might be enhanced & preserved.

Poynings from the Dyke. Then & Now

"Then" being 100 years ago:-

"Now" being February 2010:-

The trees and scrub have spread up Newtimber Hill and Newtimber Woods appear to have increased in area.  In the distance one can just make out the beginning of the modern suburban sprawl starting at Hurstpierpoint. In Poynings itself houses now line the near side of the road between the Royal Oak and Glebe Cottage and more houses have been added at the western end. Also, in the modern picture, the 1930's cottages at Poynings crossroads can be seen. Otherwise many of the field shapes have remained the same and it is interesting that a separately cultivated strip of field in the older picture (centre) has now become a garden.


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Cliff End

The cliffs of Sussex, formed where the South Downs meet the sea, rise abruptly just west of Eastbourne and quickly reach their maximum height of 500 feet at Beachy Head. Seventeen miles further west they taper down to zero at the Brighton/Hove boundary where they meet the Sussex coastal plain.

Patcham Place

Patcham Place pictured in the snow. Built in the 16th.C the facade was later modified with the black mathematical tiles that can be seen today. It is said to be haunted by one of its owners Anthony Stapley who was one of the signatories to Charles I's death warrant. On the right of the photo is Patcham Fountain erected in 1887 to commemorate Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee.
Patcham Place is owned by the City Council and up until a year or two ago it had been used as a Youth Hostel since 1939. This shows in the condition of the interior of which very few original features remain. Situated as it is on the A23 on the outskirts of a famous holiday resort it would make an ideal headquarters for the new South Downs Park Authority, and the listed stables could be restored to provide extra space for a Visitor Centre and/or South Downs Museum.