£5m in redevelopment for Brighton station

[MidnightFlyer]

(Searched but couldn't find a thread on this, apologies if one exists already.)

Southern and Network Rail are working on plans for a remodelled concourse at Brighton station, to include the following:
- a new booking office, waiting room, cafe and information screens;
- double the number of ticket gates;
- removal of the big departures board to open up view of overall roof;
- a wider selection of retail units;
- demolition of the building housing WH Smiths;
- the third arch of the central walkway to be opened up to create better access.

Network Rail are providing £4.5m towards the project, with the remaining £0.5m coming from Southern. Both are working closely with the relevant bodies to protect the Grade II listed building. Work is due to start in December and be finished by December 2013.

I like Brighton station a lot, I think it is one of the best on the old Southern Region, however a project such as this has been spoken of for a long time so it is great to see some action now being taken. The concourse is very overcrowded in summer especially, however only really on the east side due to the fact that that's where the only ticket gates are. Hopefully the doubled number of gates implies that the western half also now receives them, to spread out flow more than anything. The news on the booking office is good too. Often times when I'm down there the queue for it is awful, out of the door even. It currently has 6 windows, but even with 4 open it struggles, which isn't aided by the tiny room it is housed in. I await the final details eagerly.

 

[fgwrich]

Noooo:

>removal of the big departures board to open up view of overall roof

Sounds like the end is in sight for those Solari? boards tucked behind the big LED Screens then.

However, i do agree that Brighton has been in need of a good refurbishment for a while, and it'll be nice to see what NR & Southern have in their plans for it.

 

[BestWestern]

I would have thought that Brighton was ok as it is to be honest; there must surely be other more needy locations?!

 

[ushawk]

The gateline gets incredibly busy during peak periods so extending it is welcomed, as is the bigger ticket office. The entrance is a bottleneck too so making it bigger will help a lot.

Ive seen the plans of what everything will look like (cant remember where). The new gateline will be where the current departure boards are and the current boards will be moved.

 

[a1a.a1a]

Ive seen the plans of what everything will look like (cant remember where). The new gateline will be where the current departure boards are and the current boards will be moved.

They are on line somewhere - 'B&H council planning' I think?

Looks quite smart

 

[OxtedL]

This link may work, hopefully it's the right one:

http://www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/ind...on=showDetail&application_number=BH2012/02454

Beware the website does not agree with some browsers.