Brighton Marina
Coordinates: 50°48′45″N 0°06′11″W / 50.8125°N 0.103°W
| Brighton Marina | |
 View over Brighton Marina |
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 Brighton Marina shown within East Sussex |
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| Unitary authority | Brighton and Hove |
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| Ceremonial county | East Sussex |
| Region | South East |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | BRIGHTON |
| Postcode district | BN2 |
| Dialling code | 01273 |
| Police | Sussex |
| Fire | East Sussex |
| Ambulance | South East Coast |
| EU Parliament | South East England |
| UK Parliament | Brighton, Kemptown |
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Brighton Marina is an artificial marina situated in Brighton, England. It features a working harbour and residential housing alongside a variety of leisure, retail and commercial activities. The construction of the marina itself took place between 1971 and 1979, although developments within it have continued ever since. The marina covers an area of approximately 127 acres (0.51 km2).[1]
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History [edit]
Brighton Corporation purchased the foreshore at the Black Rock site from the Crown Estate Commissioners for £50,000 on 1 March 1972. On the same day the land was leased to the Brighton Marina Company for a period of 125 years.[2] The architect of the original plan was David Hodges of the Louis de Soissons Partnership.[3] Construction of the marina commenced in 1971 and was opened for use in 1978.[4] The marina was officially opened by Elizabeth II on 31 May 1979.[5] The original funders were the National Westminster Bank, the Electricity Supply Pension Fund and the Royal Insurance.[6]
A SeaJet service ran from the Marina to Dieppe in France between 1979 and 1980. Two Boeing Jetfoils were used, with three "flights" per day. The service suffered from poor reliability of the Jetfoils in the early stages, was restricted due to mid-channel wave height, and suffered during the French fishermen's blockade of channel ports.[citation needed]
Brent Walker purchased the marina in the mid 1980s.[citation needed] Brunswick Developments purchased the marina for £9m from Brent Walker's receivers in 1996.[7]
In 1992 there was a trial of summer-season passenger services to Fécamp, France, using a small catamaran ferry.[citation needed]
From 2003 to 2010, the marina hosted an annual, weekend event called "The Big Splash". It featured street performers, fireworks and aqua themed entertainment and coincided with the final days of the Brighton Festival.[8]
Ownership [edit]
Bruswick Developments Group plc owns the head lease of Brighton Marina.[9] The marine operations are leased to Premier Marinas.[citation needed] The underlease for the commercial activities was purchased by X-Leisure from Parkridge Developments in August 2004 for £65m.[10]
Marina facilities [edit]
Operated by Premier Marinas, the marina provides 1,600 berths along with various ancillary services including a boatyard and fuel berth.[11] Other marina services including boat sales, equipment shops and boat trips are provided by a variety of commercial operators.[12]
The RNLI operates an inshore lifeboat from the west quay.[13]
Commercial operations [edit]
The marina features a variety of retail and leisure businesses. These include an Asda supermarket, two groups of boutique shops, restaurants such as Frankie & Benny's, PizzaExpress and Café Rouge, bars, a hotel, a bowling alley, a health club, a casino, and a Cineworld multiplex cinema.[14] There is also a multi-storey car-park.
Residential [edit]
On the east and south side of the marina there are several gated communities consisting of townhouses and apartments, some of which come with their own moorings
Expansion plans [edit]
Outer Harbour Development [edit]
Planning permission for a new district of the marina to contain 853 new apartments, cafés, bars and restaurants was approved by Brighton & Hove City Council in July 2006.[15] The development is planned for the south-western part of the marina and would partly sit on stilts over the main spending beach. The centrepiece building is to be a skyscraper dubbed The Roaring Forties which would stand at 40 storeys tall and include a public viewing platform on the top floor. Two new pedestrian bridges are to be included in the scheme: one retractable bridge to link the marina arms and the second to link the western beach with the new scheme. The developers are Brunswick Developments and the architects are Wilkinson Eyre.[16] In 2006 CABE highlighted the development as one of four national developments demonstrating best practice in design and planning.[17]
No significant building work has started and the whole project was put on hold in view of the poor financial climate.[18] However in April 2013, Brunswick Developments announced that construction would commence in September 2013.[19]
Inner Harbour Development [edit]
A planning application to redevelop much of the west side of the marina was submitted in September 2007.[20] The plans included several tall apartment blocks (the tallest would be Marina Point which would be 28 storeys high and Quayside which was to be 16 storeys), various new retail provisions including small shops, a new central square (where the current roundabout stands) and an "eco park", connected to the Undercliff Walk. The ASDA supermarket would be demolished and rebuilt to a larger size with car parking underground and apartments above, freeing up the considerable space presently used for its open-air car park, allowing for further development. The petrol station and McDonalds would also be demolished and rebuilt under this scheme. Around five new apartment blocks would be added to the marina in total. The developers were Explore Living, a division of Laing O'Rourke, and the architects were Allies and Morrison.
Planning permission was refused in December 2008.[21] The developer appealed against the planning decision and a public enquiry commenced in November 2009. The appeal was dismissed in July 2010.[22]
There was considerable local opposition to both the above developments, which have been accused of being inappropriate, too dense, damaging to the Brighton skyline and to cliff and sea views, and in breach of the provision of the Brighton Marina Act 1968 that no building should exceed cliff height (approximately seven storeys). The main campaigning organisation is savebrighton[dead link] which is coordinating opposition from individual residents, residents' organisations and amenity groups. The campaign was launched in November 2007. The founder of savebrighton, Brian Simpson, has called for the "gross over-development of Brighton Marina" to be stopped.[23]
References [edit]
- ^ Carder, Timothy (1990). The Encyclopedia of Brighton. East Sussex County Libraries. s.98(e). ISBN 0-86147-315-9.
- ^ "The Marina - signed, sealed and toasted with bubbly". Brighton & Hove Gazette. 3 March 1972.
- ^ "Obituary: David Hodges". The Independent (London). 1 October 1998.
- ^ "History of Brighton Marina". Brighton Marina. Retrieved 11 Jan 2013.
- ^ Fines, Ken (2002). A History of Brighton and Hove. Phillimore & Co. p. 166. ISBN 1 86077 231 5.
- ^ Trebilcock, Clive (1985). Phoenix Assurance and the Development of British Insurance 2. Cambridge University Press. p. 1002. ISBN 9780521254151.
- ^ Sherwood, Bob (3 February 2007). "Work under way on Brighton's beachfront tower". Financial Times (London).
- ^ "The Big Splash at Brighton Marina, 2010". Premier Marinas. Retrieved January 2013.
- ^ Brunswick Developments Group plc. Directors' report and financial statements 2011. Companies House.
- ^ "Ex-dome chief buys marina share". BBC. 8 August 2004. Retrieved January 2013.
- ^ "Brighton Marina and Boatyard". Retrieved January 2013.
- ^ "Brighton Marina - Water". Retrieved January 2013.
- ^ "Brighton Lifeboat Station". RNLI. Retrieved January 2013.
- ^ "Brighton Marina". Retrieved January 2013.
- ^ "Brighton Marina Planning Applications". Brighton & Hove City Council. Retrieved January 2013.
- ^ "Brighton Marina". Wilkinson Eyre. Retrieved January 2013.
- ^ "Praise for tower that never was". The Argus. 20 March 2006. Retrieved January 2013.
- ^ "Brighton Marina Residential Newsletter 2012". Retrieved January 2013.
- ^ "Work can finally start on £250m Brighton Marina development". The Argus. Retrieved April 2013.
- ^ "Brighton Marina Planning Applications". Brighton & Hove City Council. Retrieved January 2013.
- ^ "No plain sailing for Brighton Marina developers". The Argus. 13 December 2008. Retrieved January 2013.
- ^ "Brighton Marina Planning Applications". Brighton & Hove City Council. Retrieved January 2013.
- ^ "New group launches fight against towers". Brighton Argus. Retrieved 11 Jan 2013.
External links [edit]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Brighton Marina |
- Official Brighton Marina website
- Website for the Brighton Marina Regeneration Project
- View nautical chart of Brighton Marina and approaches
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