Green light for £18m Brighton, UK's, Hippodrome regeneration
Brighton, UK's, Hippodrome looks set to enjoy a new lease of life after Brighton & Hove City Council approved plans to transform the 117-year-old structure into a cinema and restaurant complex.
Alaska Development Consultants is behind the £18m plans and – having been advised by Indigo Planning – will bring the Grade-II listed, ‘at risk’ building back into use, based on designs from Russ Drage Architects. The proposals include an eight-screen Vue cinema housed beneath the floor of the Hippodrome dome and to the rear of the building, a new (removable) floor inserted at low level within the dome to create space for a signature restaurant, a second restaurant in the restored and refurbished Hippodrome House, as well as a new public square just off Middle Street.
In agreement with English Heritage, all important historic fabric will be retained. The entire enclosure to the Hippodrome auditorium as well as its Middle Street elevation and the Hippodrome House façade will be preserved and restored to their former glory. A spokesperson for the project told Leisure Opportunities that the £18m figure represents the build costs, with the anticipated end value of the project being £35m.
Having first opened as an ice rink in 1897, the Frank Matcham-designed building soon switched to a circus before closing in 1902. It reopened a year later as a theatre, becoming a bingo hall in 1967, as it remained until closing in 2007. Over the years the Hippodrome has hosted entertainers from Harry Houdini, Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin, to The Beatles and Rolling Stones.
“Following an exhaustive and comprehensive period of design development and planning consultations, we are delighted to be finally in a position to complete what we started over two years ago,” said Chris Moore, development manager for Alaska Development Consultants.
“Our aim has always been to preserve, restore and enhance this magnificent old building and now, with Brighton & Hove Council’s consent, we can put our plans into action and bring this famous building back to life.”
Europe's premier Evian Spa unveiled at Hôtel Royal in France
Clinique La Prairie unveils health resort in China after two-year project
GoCo Health Innovation City in Sweden plans to lead the world in delivering wellness and new science
Four Seasons announces luxury wellness resort and residences at Amaala
Aman sister brand Janu debuts in Tokyo with four-floor urban wellness retreat
€38m geothermal spa and leisure centre to revitalise Croatian city of Bjelovar
Two Santani eco-friendly wellness resorts coming to Oman, partnered with Omran Group
Kerzner shows confidence in its Siro wellness hotel concept, revealing plans to open 100
Ritz-Carlton, Portland unveils skyline spa inspired by unfolding petals of a rose
Rogers Stirk Harbour & Partners are just one of the names behind The Emory hotel London and Surrenne private members club
Peninsula Hot Springs unveils AUS$11.7m sister site in Australian outback
IWBI creates WELL for residential programme to inspire healthy living environments
Conrad Orlando unveils water-inspired spa oasis amid billion-dollar Evermore Resort complex
Studio A+ realises striking urban hot springs retreat in China's Shanxi Province
Populous reveals plans for major e-sports arena in Saudi Arabia
Wake The Tiger launches new 1,000sq m expansion
Othership CEO envisions its urban bathhouses in every city in North America
Merlin teams up with Hasbro and Lego to create Peppa Pig experiences
SHA Wellness unveils highly-anticipated Mexico outpost
One&Only One Za’abeel opens in Dubai featuring striking design by Nikken Sekkei
Luxury spa hotel, Calcot Manor, creates new Grain Store health club
'World's largest' indoor ski centre by 10 Design slated to open in 2025
Murrayshall Country Estate awarded planning permission for multi-million-pound spa and leisure centre
Aman's Janu hotel by Pelli Clarke & Partners will have 4,000sq m of wellness space
Therme Group confirms Incheon Golden Harbor location for South Korean wellbeing resort
Universal Studios eyes the UK for first European resort
King of Bhutan unveils masterplan for Mindfulness City, designed by BIG, Arup and Cistri
Rural locations are the next frontier for expansion for the health club sector
Tonik Associates designs new suburban model for high-end Third Space health and wellness club
Aman sister brand Janu launching in Tokyo in 2024 with design by Denniston's Jean-Michel Gathy
Creating the 9/11 Memorial Museum in New York involved meticulous planning. Its director Alice Greenwald tells us more