7 Days of Headlines with Phil Mills
New heath spa to create 300 jobs, bid for more free Wi-Fi in Brighton and two big cat sightings
The economy may still be struggling but there’s no shortage of investors looking to inject big money into Brighton and Hove.
The latest plan calls for a £5 million luxury spa which would go a long way to regenerate the Peter Pans Playground area of Maderia Drive. The Brighton Bathing Pavilion would create 300 jobs and pump £10 million a year into the local economy. Work on Karma Royal Group’s spa and outdoor swimming pool could start next year. It is being backed by city councillors who chose Karma (which run spas around the world) as the preferred bidder.
There would be five pavilions, an indoor and outdoor children’s club, a year-round spa and health centre, plus a beach club and restaurant. The idea would be to provide a year-round “high quality inclusive and family-friendly facility”.
More investment is in the pipeline. Partners across the city are reviewing the economic development potential of Brighton and Hove with the aim of attracting new business, retaining small and medium sized enterprises to help grow the local economy.
The government has already recognised the city as a foreign direct investment location and around 30 US-based digital media companies looking to invest in the UK are due to visit the city this autumn. Councillor Geoffrey Bowden, chairman of the economic development and culture committee, said: “For the first time we’ll be setting out a comprehensive profile of the city’s business and employment opportunities to audiences within the city, in the UK and the rest of the world.”
To oil the city wheels, the council plans to spend £150,000 bringing free Wi-Fi to the city and business centres. The bid could net £5 million government funding to extend street Wi-Fi and ultrafast broadband to benefit both residents and businesses. Transmitters could be mounted on council buildings and lamp posts. The council is working with Wired Sussex to outline the business case for the bid.
Meanwhile, Transport Minister Norman Baker MP officially opened the new Danish-inspired cycle and pedestrian facilities on Old Shoreham Road. The new route is designed for the hundreds of young people travelling to and from school or college in the area on foot or by bike. There are three schools directly adjacent to the scheme, totalling some 5,000 young people who attend schools in the area. The new facilities include a new wide and raised level zebra crossing, raised crossing areas at side roads or adjacent to, and new pedestrian and cycle crossings at two major junctions. The 1.5km route runs from BHASVIC at Dyke Road to the junction of The Drive/Shirley Drive.
In other news, continuing bad weather failed to dampen spirits in the London to Brighton bike ride. Meanwhile, three men have been charged with attempting to dupe investors into sinking £5 million into bogus betting brochures. And police have scaled down their search for missing 96-year-old Nellie Herriott who disappeared from her Brighton home. Despite searches by police using sniffer dogs and a poster campaign, there has been no sign of Nellie since April. Anyone with information should call police on 101.
Lastly, despite so-called sightings all around Sussex over many years, there’s still no conclusive evidence that a big wild cat is wandering our fields and streets. The latest sightings were in the grounds of Patcham High School and on Hollingbury Golf Course in Brighton. Of course, this could simply be a misunderstanding. Latest reader James Alexander emailed: “This so-called panther could simply be an ordinary domestic cat suffering the same problem as humans in Britain – obesity.” What do you think?
