A Brighton mental health service that provides vital therapeutic support to some of the city’s most vulnerable residents is facing devastating cuts — and thousands of people are fighting to stop it.
Nearly 3,400 people have signed a petition demanding that the Wellbeing Hub at Preston Park retains its current level of service, after proposals emerged that would slash its opening from five days a week to just six hours. The cuts would represent a reduction of more than 90% of the service’s available time — a prospect that campaigners describe as unacceptable.
The hub, run jointly by community care group Southdown and UOK Brighton and Hove, provides what its supporters call “consistent therapeutic support, community and stability” for the people who rely on it. For many of those clients, the service is not a supplementary resource — it is a lifeline, offering the kind of regular, familiar support that is difficult to replicate in any other setting and almost impossible to replace through six hours of provision per week.
Protesters made their voices heard outside Hove Town Hall this week, gathering to urge councillors to reject the proposals in person. The strength of feeling in the room reflected a community that understands what is at stake — not just for current service users, but for the broader mental health infrastructure of a city where demand has never been higher.
The proposed cuts come as NHS Sussex reorganises its services ahead of its merger with Surrey Heartlands Integrated Care Board, which took effect on 1 April. The merger has triggered a wider review of provision across the region, and the Preston Park hub appears to be among the casualties of that process. NHS Sussex had not responded to requests for comment at the time of publication.
The timing could hardly be more difficult. Mental health services across Brighton and Hove have been under sustained pressure, and community-based hubs of this kind — accessible, consistent and rooted in their local area — are increasingly recognised as an essential first line of support before people reach crisis point.
A petition of 3,400 signatures in a city of Brighton’s size is a meaningful show of public opposition. Whether it will be enough to change the outcome remains to be seen. But those gathering outside Hove Town Hall this week made clear they are not prepared to watch a vital service disappear without a fight.
