Brighton is often revered for its reputation as a liberal, seaside haven that provides a more peaceful take on modern day life.
But with the seaside suffering constant complaints from its facilities, the national decline in tourism due in part to a Covid pandemic and a constantly evolving demographic- Does Brighton still have the appeal it used to?
For a seaside city, the paradise that people expect has suffered over the past few years, with the spectacle of the palace pier having aged over time to become tired and lack the excitement that a traveller has grown to expect from a local attraction.
The constant recent coverage regarding basic necessities, such as public bathrooms has also painted a picture of an aged and worn site that simply cannot accommodate the vast amounts of tourism that is needed to fund the council, with temporary installations struggling to even handle the local residents that came out over the recent sunny weekends.
Within the population, the adaptations that continually occur make it difficult to understand exactly what the demographic truly looks like.
Known for its open, welcoming nature, the influx of youth and individuality has made Brighton so unique and interesting, bringing money and progression, yet has created a society that segments itself into students, young professionals, and creatives on one side, while the older and more family orientated communities exist on the other.
A more pressing issue is that while this happens, the homeless population continues to grow, becoming a pandemic in itself that has meant sending your own citizens to hotels in neighbouring towns is now commonplace.
This is all before the effects of Coronavirus, where a city with rising house costs and impossible prices for first time buyers gets further challenged, as professionals from the capital seek better living situations that bring opportunity of commercial prosperity, but at the expense of the openings available to those within the city.
Those who have managed to live and find success at home, are now also facing the decline of the high streets, the vast array of independent shops that help encapsulate the free spirit of Brighton are seeing one of the largest levels of closures in the whole of the UK.
Students don’t have the disposable income to make a dent into the local economy, preferring to move to modern online shopping anyway.
This is not to take away from the positives that Brighton does offer, like any city it has positives and negatives that balance out, but as everything reopens, the prospects for local businesses to thrive and for residents to gain opportunity still appear to be in decline.
Photo Credit: Ben Guerin
