Brighton's Royal Pavilion Gardens And Toilets Face Revamp

Two planning applications have been submitted to rebuild a set of public toilets and re-landscape the Royal Pavilion Gardens.

The plans were submitted by Brighton and Hove Museums, the trading name of the Royal Pavilion and Museums Trust.

The trust has applied to remodel the existing toilet block into a Changing Places accessible toilet and separate gender-neutral cubicles facing the listed gardens.

The new building would include a kiosk, an accessible toilet in addition to the Changing Places toilet, a baby change cubicle and three individual toilets.

The trust has a 22-year lease on the existing toilet block from Brighton and Hove City Council.

The public toilets, in Prince’s Place, have been closed since October last year because of vandalism and anti-social behaviour.

The trust applied to the Heritage Lottery Fund in August for £4.4 million to revamp the Pavilion Gardens and public toilets.

The trust’s application included a design and access statement which said:

“Re-orientating the block’s frontage towards the gardens will create a focal point from across the site and create safe visible access to the facility.

“The new architectural additions retain the majority of the existing fabric and provide clear points of connection for the public.”

An outdoor learning area is also planned next to the Brighton Dome building.

The trust said that landscaping would include restoring and reinstating historic walls, metal railings and gates in the grade II-listed garden.

A plan to remove modern trees and hedges is aimed at restoring the original views created by the Royal Pavilion’s architect, John Nash.

According to the trust’s planning statement, fencing would be strengthened and seating replaced along New Road to tackle anti-social behaviour and improve the area’s security and “attractiveness”.

The application said:

“In order to reunify the Royal Pavilion estate, it will be essential to re-awaken the potential of the gardens as the means to mediate and connect the complex relationships between the historic buildings, so restoring the character of a ‘royal estate’.

“While the gardens were positively restored in the late 20th century, opportunity should be taken to enhance that scheme with, for example, protective fencing, better paths and lighting levels, improved irrigation and waste disposal and better facilities for the gardening staff.”

The application does state the gardens should not be “cluttered” with permanent statues, commemorative objects or public art unless there is a “convincing case based on historic associations of national interest”.

Currently, a statue of Max Miller is on the edge of the estate and, in August, councillors mooted the idea of two new statues in the gardens.

They would honour the suffragette Mary Clarke and the Indian soldiers who were nursed at the Royal Pavilion during the First World War.

Nash designed the Royal Pavilion for George, Prince of Wales, who became the Prince Regent and, later, King George IV.

Work started in 1787 and the layout designed by Nash was completed between 1815 and 1823.

In 2017, Historic England placed the garden on its “at risk” register.

Two identical applications on the council’s website are open to public comment with the references BH2023/02835 and BH2023/02836.

Application BH2023/02835 has a single comment about reusing the hooped fencing alongside the planted beds next to the cycle lane in Victoria Gardens.