Hove Station Community Hub – CH1

Improvement Group

Hove Station is a major transport hub that has had very little investment for many years.  The area includes shops, small businesses, cafés, bars and pubs and is badly in need of a major environmental public realm uplift. The Forum is proposing to establish a community hub in the immediate vicinity of the Station premises. If you’re interested in joining the Hove Station Improvement group and/or helping with petitions and getting the local businesses involved please get in touch.

Where?

  • Station Rise
  • Goldstone Villa shops
  • Station Pub
  • Footbridge
  • Listed buildings, Station Approach – Denmark Villas,
    including Ralli Hall with its wide range of community facilities
  • Post Office sorting office
  • Shops at the bottom of Hove Park Villas
  • Blatchington Court Trust
  • Hove Business Centre in Dubarry Buildings
Hove Park Villas Concept Sketches_TurnerAssociates
Hove Station Community Hub - CH1

Footbridge Improvements – Concept by DK Architects and MW Creative Services

Hove Station Community Hub - CH1

Why?

The Hove Station Community Hub will be the primary focal point of the new Hove Station Quarter, but the Hub area needs:

  • a significant environmental uplift to improve the public realm;
  • a major improvement in traffic management which will enable it to function as the ‘sustainable transport hub’ as envisaged in the City Plan DA6 proposals;
  • improved accessibility;

How? – build on work already done

The Forum established the Hove Station Area Improvement Group of local residents which has met several times, and identified key issues and possible actions.

This Group has:

  • contributed to the briefing which the Forum Committee gave to the government funded AECOM consultants who produced the original Hove Station Quarter Concept Plan which illustrates:
    • revised traffic management to enable pedestrians to move more safely and easily between the bus stops, the Station entrance and the footbridge
    • conservation of the listed buildings in Goldstone Villas and Denmark Villas
    • potential improvement of the public realm, including:
      • widening and landscaping pavements outside shops
      • an informal seated and landscaped area in front of the listed Station buildings to replace the car wash
  • organised the Hove Station Footbridge Petition, with 550 signatures,  which was presented  to the council’s Environment, Transport and Sustainability Committee
  • petitioned to remove unused phone boxes outside the Station Pub
  • contributed to SPD18 – the council’s Supplementary Planning Document for Hove Station Area
  • worked with urban designers to develop the ideas in the Hove Station Quarter Concept Plan into a Hove Station Community Hub Improvement Scheme for inclusion in the Neighbourhood Plan Part Two
  • provided local business perspective on improvements to enhance their operating environment
  • encouraged shop owners and community organisations to promote the work of the Forum,  spread awareness of the Neighbourhood Plan and recruit new Forum members
  • developed ‘ball park costs’ for a phased programme of works to be funded by a combination of public investment, developer contributions and contributions from businesses

Who? and When ?

The Hove Station Community Hub Improvement Project includes local businesses, local residents and community organisations. Local architects and designers have provided concept sketches and the Blatchington Trust has kindly provided a meeting room in Hove Park Villas.

If you’re interested in contributing to the development of improvement proposals, helping with petitions or getting the local businesses involved please get in touch

The fourth Hove Station Area Improvement meeting took place in November 2018. For the next meeting, please subscribe, check our events section or follow us on Facebook.

Outcomes

Early sites / projects have now been incorporated into the council’s official plans (SPD18) as summarised below:

Hove Station Community Hub - CH1
  • Station Approach and Footbridge:
    • Public realm scheme to improve setting of Hove Station, reduce dominance of road network and provide more convenient access to buses and taxis. To be incorporated in a comprehensive urban design scheme building on the Neighbourhood Plan proposals for the Hove Station Community Hub.
    • Improving the footbridge (including providing lifts) is a key element of this project
  • Enhance station setting:
    • The area south of the railway line has the potential to provide (i) a much improved setting for the listed station buildings; and (ii) a public realm that provides more space for pedestrians. cyclists and users of public transport and reduced space for vehicles.
  • Improve station accessibility:
    • While the south side of the station forms the main access point for passengers and is relatively accessible, the vehicular pedestrian cycle conflicts should be minimised. The north side of the railway has completely inadequate access via the footbridge, creating access problems for a range of users (and potential users) including people with disabilities and elderly people with heavy shopping bags or luggage.
    • In the short term, the physical condition of the bridge (which is a listed structure) should be improved, It should also offer more attractive alternatives for accessing the southern entrance by improving connectivity from the north and west through the Conway Street area, from Fonthill Road and across to the Sackville Trading area as it is redeveloped.
    • In the longer term an evaluation of the options should be undertaken of lift access to the bridge at both ends or extending to Hove Park Villas the north-south tunnel connecting the platforms.
  • Hove Park Villas Square:
    • Opportunity for early public realm project to improve setting of northern entrance. First phase of comprehensive scheme to improve access to the station, including upgrading the footbridge
    • To be incorporated in a comprehensive urban design scheme building on the Neighbourhood Plan proposals.

Neighbourhood Plan Policy 1 – Creation of a Hove Station Quarter

6 Location

Hove BN3 6AF, UK  Browse all articles by location →

5 thoughts on “Hove Station Community Hub – CH1”

  1. Thanks Jon. Traffic management is one of the issues most frequently raised by the public. It’s certainly a major challenge in the congested Hove Station area.

    Reply
  2. Increased traffic flow in a proposed one way system down Denmark Villas and Eaton Villas will lead to traffic backing up and constant congestion in one of the best preserved Victorian conservation areas. Having lived in Denmark Villas for 17 Years we and the other local residents have not experienced any problems with the traffic flow around Hove Station. Residents of Denmark Villas chose to live there because of the relative lighter flow of traffic with less pollution,helping to preserve this unique road’s special environment . Particularly concerning is the fact that for the first time heavy goods vehicles and buses would use Denmark Villas as a through route,

    Reply
  3. That’s a good point, Brian. We should discuss this at the next meeting of the Hove Station Community Hub.

    Reply
  4. I agree with Brian Capron about traffic in Denmark Villas. Traffic flow is not a current problem and there is no need for change.

    Reply

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