A multi-tiered West Pier, a monorail, an art gallery, these are all part of the masterplan Nick Lomax has created for Brighton and Hove, and is today urging leaders to think big.
Nick Lomax jointly founded Brighton’s LCE Architects in 1990, has over thirty years’ industry experience and has worked on dozens of major projects including the Jubilee Library and he says there is no reason why Brighton and Hove cannot be among the best seafront cities in the world. His plan would see the seafront split into seven zones, running from east to west, from Black Rock to the West Lawns in Hove. His controversial plans, should they go ahead, would see the West Pier destroyed and replaced by a multi-tier pier as well as a car museum in the seafront arches and an outdoor pool complex. There are plans to upgrade the Western Lawns with new sports facilities as well as redeveloping King Alfred leisure centre. Oh, and don’t forget the monorail.
He told The Argus “These are all just ideas and at an early stage. But they are about starting a debate on the seafront. We need to start thinking big. It is easy to say monorails and new art galleries are all pie in the sky. But other cities around the world are building these things so why shouldn’t we? If your starting point is ‘well that is never going to happen anyway’ then you are never going to get anywhere”. It was reported in 2013 that Nick Lomax put the proposal to the brains behind the i360 but it was turned down but his plans are to feature as part of The Argus’ Seafront 2020 campaign which was launched last April. Lomax thinks that if this plan goes ahead, Brighton could be as great as Seattle and Sydney. The Seafront 2020 is a campaign aimed to kickstart a debate about the future of our coastal communities. Some of the points of the campaign are to preserve natural habitats, protect the traditional seafront industries such as the fishing ports whilst encouraging a new creative digital industry and to promote cross-party co-operation across the region, so there is no self-interest when discussing the future of the communities.
What do you think? Do you think the plans are any good?
Holly Martin
“other cities around the world are building these things so why shouldn’t we?”
My answer would be; if people like these ideas in other cities then they should move to those other cities.
I and many other like the city the way it is, low-rise, 2/3 storey, the long unspoilt walk along the promenade.
We do not need to compete with the modern era, in fact our historic buildings, infrastructure and unspoilt views will be a selling point once every else has been destroyed. The picture on the top of this article is a hint of things to come to the seafront if people do not reclaim Brighton.