Circus Street, Brighton

At Circus Street in Brighton, U+I Group are turning a derelict municipal market into an innovation quarter and a powerhouse for regeneration in the city centre. It is intended to create a sustainable, productive and healthy model of city life.

Planning was granted in September 2014 for the £100m mixed-use development in partnership with Brighton and Hove City Council and the University of Brighton. The development aims to galvanize the surrounding area by providing:

142 new homes.
450 student apartments.
A new base for the internationally acclaimed South East Dance.
A library and arts facility for the University of Brighton.
A community hub.
38,000 sq. ft of business and start up space.

It is hoped that Brighton will benefit from around 300 permanent new jobs and more than £204 million gross value added to the local economy over the first 10 years as a result of the project.

U+I are greening a space that has offered little ecological value in the past, building accommodation around two large, green urban squares, encouraging the growth of fruit and vegetables in allotments (on a site where fresh produce was once sold), planting disease resistant elms and taking steps to nurture bio diversity.

There will be a big focus on travel by bike and foot, a push for green energy with electric charging points in accessible locations and residential design that encourages more communal, responsible, neighbourly living among tenants.

Project data:

Date acquired: Apr 2007.
Value: £100m.
Architect: Shedkm, TP Bennet.
Development partners: Brighton and Hove City Council, University of Brighton.

In September 2016, U+I announced it would re-tender the project after failing to agree a price with contractors Kier and Osborne.

Rob Sloper, development director at U + I said, “We are 100 percent committed to this project and to delivering optimum quality, value and community benefit. Getting the right contractors is essential to successful delivery and we are seeking the right contractors through an open, competitive tendering process.”

However, in March 2017 it was announced that the University has decided to defer construction of the building. A university spokesperson said; “The university’s involvement with the Circus Street Development dates back to 2007 and was delayed due initially to the economic downturn following the banking collapse and more recently the rapidly rising costs in the construction sector. The university remains supportive of the project and especially the 450 new student beds which will be built on the site.... the university will retain the land previously earmarked for its academic building and will progress its development in due course."

--U and I