A Brighton development set to feature restaurants, cafes and a private members’ club from Soho House has been given permission after a five-year battle.
The plan will see seven vacant units on the seafront demolished and replaced by two structures – one featuring cafes, takeaways and restaurants, with the other given over to Soho House.
The Brighton-based Gingerman Group is one of those due to go into the complex with its seafood-based Ginger Fish concept.
Co-founder Ben Mckellar told M&C his plans would now need to be re-costed and approved by the developers before an opening was certain.
He said: “It’s been a long, long battle but the hard work starts now. I’m really pleased we’ve got to this point because I think this is going to be a real draw for Brighton. Soho House is synonymous with London, Berlin and New York. To have Brighton in that exclusive list is a real coup.
“All I can say is that I hope we can be a part of it and we’ll be working very hard to make that a reality.”
The planning committee of Brighton and Hove City Council took almost two hours to discuss and decide upon the application last night, coming to a seven-four split decision in favour of the project.
Residents had complained about the loss of sea views, and questioned whether the developers’ plans correctly estimated the final height of the buildings allowing for rooftop gardens and machinery.
According to the Argus, one of the committee members Councillor Carol Theobald said: “What’s there now is an eye-sore, Soho House are a very established company with branches all over the world so this would regenerate a very neglected area.”
