Blue Plaque for Buckingham Place

In June our newly elected Mayor Cllr. Jackie O’Quinn unveiled this memorial at no. 7 Buckingham Place to a painter who was born and educated in Sussex and who distinguished himself as a marine painter but who was also an accomplished musician who played for many years in the orchestra of the Theatre Royal in New Road. His painting of “HMS Vengeance at Spithead” hangs in the Royal Pavilion whilst his painting “Queen Victoria Landing at Brighton” is in the collection of the Brighton and Hove Museum. Among the guests at the unveiling were relatives of the artists including Captain Brian Nibbs, a distinguished master mariner whose long service in the Royal Naval Reserve earned him the Reserve Decoration (and bar). No. 7 Buckingham Place is part of a group of terraced properties (no. 5 to no.19) which are listed Grade II and which date from about 1845.

Multinational advertising giant wants more of the pavement.

The world’s biggest outdoor advertising company JC Decaux has launched an appeal against our Council’s refusal to grant planning permission for a “Telecommunications Hub” on the pavement in Queen’s Road. The site is adjacent to the West Hill and North Laine conservation areas. The City Council have given two reasons for its refusal. Firstly, the inclusion of a large digital screen to one side and functional appearance on the reverse side featuring telephone, communication hub and defibrillator, would create additional street clutter and be an incongruous addition causing adverse harm to the visual amenity of the area. Secondly the proposal would be contrary to Brighton and Hove City Council’s Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan and highways policies by reducing the footway width and reducing the unobstructed/clear available footway capacity in an area that is considered very congested. 

Some local residents have also objected to yet more digital advertising being thrust into our faces. I have considerable sympathy with this view having recently travelled on the top deck of a Brighton bus where I hoped to enjoy a view through the front window; only to be confronted by a digital screen flashing adverts at me instead!                                                                                                              

Jim Gowans