Dave Lawrence
Dave Lawrence - Author of Mad About Brighton.

Brighton

Brighton

Demography

Demography within Brighton and Hove is diverse. Ethnicity has been a topic of debate among residents and policymakers within the city, as figures reveal that some wards have a higher proportion of residents who state their ethnicity as 'White'than the national average, whereas other wards have a lower proportion. For example, in the 2011 census, the White British population made up 50. 8% of the population in both Pelham and Queen's Park wards compared to 87.

5% in Moulsecoomb and Bevendean, which is just above the national average of 87, Mad About Brighton (madaboutbrighton.co.uk). 2%. Most residents of Brighton and Hove are of working age. The community's children have been in decline since the 1930s and, as of 2017, only 15% of the population were aged under 16, compared with almost a quarter in 1931. This means that children make up less than half the population within Brighton and Hove for the first time.

This trend is not unique to Brighton and Hove — across England and Wales, the proportion of children aged 015 has fallen from 33 percent in 1911 to 17 percent in 2001. Its population increased rapidly in the 19th century. Its location as seaside resort made it popular with day-trippers from London , while its large standing as a historic town made it a destination for tourists in its own right. This was further solidified by the patronage of the Prince Regent (later King George IV), who spent much time in Brighton and erected numerous public buildings there.

Governance and politics

The constituency of Brighton Kemptown consists of the western part of Brighton and the eastern part of Hove. It includes the university, Lewes Road, Kemptown, part of Ocean Village and Marine Parade. It was represented by David Lepper, who served as a minister in both the Blair and Brown governments before his retirement in 2010. The constituency elected Caroline Lucas in 2010. After her election Lucas became involved with more national issues: she won media attention in 2014 when she was temporarily banned from entering Australia; the ban was lifted following a public outcry.

The current MP for Brighton Pavilion is Labour's Peter Kyle. Both of Brighton's parliamentary constituencies have been safe seats for their respective parties (Labour and the Conservatives) at various times, but since 1997 they have been held by the Labour Party. The incumbent Member of Parliament (MP) for Brighton Kemptown is Simon Kirby, and for Brighton Pavilion is Caroline Lucas who won a majority of 13,742 in 2010. The three main political parties in Brighton and Hove are the Labour Party, Green Party, and Conservative Party.

The Labour Party control both of the city's constituencies, Brighton Kemptown and Brighton Pavilion. Labour has 40 seats on the city council; the Green Party have 18; the Conservative Party have seven; one seat is held by an independent. Brighton Kemptown is a less diverse constituency, with just under half of its residents born outside the UK. Brighton Pavilion is a highly distinctive constituency covering central and southern Brighton and including the student area of Preston Park; demographic trends in this area have been very favourable for Labour.

Landmarks

The Royal Pavilion was commissioned by the Prince Regent (later George IV) when he had become the Prince of Wales as a seaside retreat away from business at Carlton House. It was completed in 1823, at a cost of £上海贵族宝贝S427,000. The architect was John Nash, under the influence of Wahab 刘伯温注册送彩金老品牌, called upon to produce a building that should be equally hospitable in winter as in summer. The Prince wanted an exotic home, so Nash created for him an elaborately decorated Oriental extravaganza featuring turquoise blue tiles and ver.

The palace was commissioned in 1813 as a seaside retreat for the Prince Regent, and as the site for him to conduct his relationship with his mistress, Maria Fitzherbert. It was located in the then fashionable resort of Brighton on the south coast of England. As such, the resulting buildings are a fusion of architectural styles; a mix of Neoclassical and Indo-Saracenic buildings within garden grounds. The Royal Pavilion, a Grade I listed building,[104] is a former royal palace built as a home for the Prince Regent during the early 19th century, under the direction of the architect John Nash.

It is notable for its Indo-Saracenic architecture and Oriental interior. The Royal Pavilion is a former royal residence located in Brighton, England. Beginning in 1787, it was built in three stages as a seaside retreat for George, Prince of Wales, who became the Prince Regent in 1811. . There are 75,230 households in Brighton and Hove of which 31% are married, 30% have children, 34% have no children, and 3% are mixed-family.  The city's population is 66% white and 19% Asian.

Culture

Like many other cities, Brighton has a number of social problems and areas of high deprivation. [127] The area around St James's Street was described by a resident as "the worst area in the city" [128] and "the most dangerous place in Britain" [129] ; however, according to a more recent survey by the magazine Brighton Best , there are only five neighbourhoods in Brighton and Hove that are not considered 'tree-lined, prosperous and attractive'.

[130] In February 2008, Brighton received England's first community award under the government's Trouble Spots programme. The Seagull Trust, working with local residents, launched a comprehensive attack on some of the main social problems in the areas around Brighton Marina. [131]. Pizza Express, [127] designated in 1998 by Pizza Today magazine as "the UK's best pizzeria", [128] and Zizzi, the UK's largest Italian restaurant chain, have their headquarters in Brighton. [129]  The  [130] and Brighton Pride are held annually; the latter from a charitable foundation, is the UK's biggest free gay pride festival.

The city also holds an annual food and drink festival. Most restaurants are found in the city centre, especially along Brighton's main shopping streets, High Street and Churchill Square. [127] However, Brighton also offers several international cuisines reflected by the diverse population of the city. Indian and Nepalese restaurants as well as seafood and Italian food can be found throughout the city. As well as restaurants, Brighton has many bars, cafés, motorbike shops, charity shops, vintage clothing shops and nightclubs.

[127] Many of the old buildings in the city centre are made from the local golden-yellow limestone (known as 'Bath stone') which was popular when the town was first built. In the past fifteen years there has been a growth in the number of restaurants and cafes in Brighton, especially along the Albion Street/West Street corridor. Brighton has a reputation for offering of more variety and quality in terms of food when compared to other British cities.

Education

University of Brighton, the city's other university, is located at Western Road and was established in 1952 as the first higher education institution to be established in the city. Universities and colleges include Brighton Business School, The University of Brighton Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Sussex Coast College Group - including Worthing , West Sussex , Brighton and Eastbourne Colleges, City College Brighton & Hove (City). [127]. In line with national trends for the country, the proportion of people aged over 65 is 15%, slightly above the average proportion for England.

Transport

The city has the UK's busiest wholly grade-separated motorway (motorway) and is a hub of the British road network. [181] London Road, linking the city centre with Portslade, is an important thoroughfare. The A23 starts from Coldean then joins Lewes Road near Brighton Racecourse and continues past Brighton station as Eastern Road before becoming London Road at Preston Circus in Kemptown. The A27 starts at Wellington Street near Brighton station and becomes London Road at Preston Circus and Kingston Bypass; then it merges with the A23 to become M23 at Gatwick Airport and passes eastwards towards central London .

[182] The A270 branches from the A23 close to Shoreham and leads into. Traffic in Brighton and Hove can be problematic. With the exception of the A27, many of the city's major roads are narrow and/or twisty. Considered by the Department for Transport to be one of the most congested urban areas in Britain, it suffers from severe rush hour congestion. [181] There are several main roads that serve the city: the A23 trunk route between London and Brighton, and routes to Lewes, Chichester, Portsmouth and Croydon.

Climate

Temperature extremes at Kew Gardens range from 32. 5 °C (90. 5 °F) to −17. 5 °C (0. 5 °F). Annually, there are an average of 6. 8 days of air frost and 4. 7 days of +1 °C (34 °F) highs, with an average of 54. 3 air frosts and 26. 8 days with snow falling somewhere within the Greater London area; although snow rarely falls in Brighton itself. The coldest temperature recorded in recent years was −11.

0 °C (12. 2 °F) on 20 January 2010 during the Big Freeze. Record snowfall for Brighton is 110 centimetres (43 in. The weather station is at Brighton Racecourse, 250m (820ft) above sea level. Since the mid-1960s, the absolute maximum temperature has been 34. 6 °C (94. 3 °F), in July 2006; the absolute minimum temperature has been −12. 8 °C (9. 0 °F), in January 1982. The UK Met Office maintains a climate comparison site, based on averages for the period 1981 to 2010.

Boundaries and areas

Today, Brighton and Hove forms a single district, with joint electoral identities. Key council offices are located on Whitehawk Hill in Brighton. The main roads crossing the district divide it into north-south and east-west sectors. The A270 is called the North Laine in the northern part of Brighton, changing to Kemptown and then Churchill Square in the city centre; the A23 is initially Western Road north of its intersection with the A27 (known as New England Quarter), becoming Elm Grove as it approaches Shoreham; and the A259 has various names including Dyke Road, London Road, Church Road and Lewes Road.

Each sector has a bus station (Brighton town centre, Goldstone Village or Churchill Square. Historically, Brighton was a fishing and market town. Fishing continued as a major industry until the mid 19th century, but the place was better known for its market for locally grown produce, held on Thursdays and Saturdays in Court Hill close to the Lanes. This was founded by authorising the existing free market, which was held on the open street or at the back of houses, to be moved to a central location surrounded by an area for tents and stalls.

It lasted until 1872 when it was closed because of concerns over public health; its replacement at New Market buildings did not attract sufficient customers. By the mid-eighteenth century, the Hundred contained three open-field parishes: Preston and Hove were hill farms, used for sheep grazing, and remained so until inclosure in 1775; West Blatchington was used for grain crops. Brighton had 45 acres (18 ha) of arable land and meadows; 68 acres (28 ha) of barley, oats and hay meadows; 794 acres (315 ha) of pasture and grassland; 41 acres (17 ha) of coppices and woodlands; and three water mills.

There were 626 houses in Brighton which had a total rateable value of £10,900 (equivalent to £850,000 at 2011 prices). In 1871, when under the Local Government Act of that year the towns of Worthing and Preston were constituted as separate parishes, Brighton became a district under a district council with an urban district council of twelve members. Two years later West Blatchington was incorporated and absorbed by Brighton.  In 1888 the town was granted a charter of incorporation to become a municipal borough, [7.

Borough council boundaries followed suit, and Brighton was split into the north and south constituencies in 1832. Following a charter of 1854, it was reincorporated as a town in 1855, and had its own mayor, by the name of Benjamin Sillitoe, variously described as a draper, draughtsman and solicitor. It regained the status of borough in 1865, with its own mayor, John Corry Wilson Macky. Hammering and knocking noises of the sort made by shipbuilding became so prevalent in Hove in the late 18th century that in 1782 residents petitioned Parliament to stop it, as shopkeepers found it impossible to serve customers.

Retail & Shopping

A wide selection of shopping opportunities can be found in the city centre, which include major high street branded shops and chain stores as well as independent retailers. The main shopping areas are Union Street and Western Road, both of which contain a mix of national and smaller specialist stores. A range of more specific shops can be found on different roads and in different areas of the city centre. The North Laine area to the north of the Laine's two main roads, Queens Road and London Road, consists mainly of independent specialist arts, antiques, fashion, music and food shops.

On the south side of Brighton are Eastern Road (including Clifton Hill) with its many international foodstores and restaurants, Preston Street (including Preston Village) with its independent. One of Brighton and Hove's best known shopping areas is North Laine, a tiled constellation of quirky, mainly independent stores, cafes and restaurants. King's Road, the A23, is home to a number of chain stores, as well as some more upmarket establishments.  Some independent shops in North Laine have become popular with tourists, but there are still some tucked away which have remained authentically resistant to gentrification.

[citation needed]  To the north-west are Rottingdean and Saltdean which have a number of small businesses that serve the local communities. There are two main shopping centres in Brighton, the Churchill Square Shopping Centre (formerly The Brighton Centre), and Marlborough Place. Marlborough Place has more up-market stores and is home to major retailers including H&M, Zara and New Look. Churchill Square has a more traditional style of shopping, with independent retailers and chain shops around the central atrium.

Brighton also has its own branch of the nationwide supermarket chain Sainsburys. As the UK's number one shopping resort, Brighton attracts millions of shoppers each year from across the country and overseas. The retail offer is both diverse and unique, with a wide selection of high-street labels, department stores and boutiques offering outlet style pricing on their ranges.  Also an increasing number of niche retailers including art/design shops, vintage clothing shops and retro furniture stores.

If you are looking for some local shopping, the Lanes and North Laine areas of Brighton offer a great range of alternative independent stores. With an eclectic mix of boutiques, vintage clothing shops, tattoo parlours and weird and wonderful gifts to be found! Along with all the usual high street names such as Topshop, Gap and River Island!. If you are looking for the perfect present for a loved one, treat yourself or just want to have a browse around some quality independent retailers then Brighton is the place to go.

 It's also the perfect opportunity to do your Christmas shopping early rather than rushing at the very last minute. Public transport in Brighton and Hove is primarily run by the Brighton and Hove Bus and Coach Company, Brighton's main bus operator, while rail services are provided by Southern. Prior to 2005, many additional routes were provided by AKA Yellow Bus & Coach operators. [181] In August 2005, all of its services were transferred to Brighton and Hove.

Cafes and restaurants

A thriving coffee shop culture has been a notable feature of Brighton since the early 1980s, and by the 1990s there were around 150 cafés and coffee bars in the city centre. [127] The opening of the road underpass beneath London Road in 1986 made it possible for pedestrians to safely cross between North Laine and the Old Steine, which resulted in an increase in the number of coffee bars compared to other cities: "by 1988 there were more outlets selling food than any other kind of business".

[128] The abundance of venues, along with ease of access and low cost, has enabled Brighton to produce "the most vibrant and varied street-food scene in Britain", with critics such as Jay Rayner describing it as having "the. Brighton's first coffee shop, Picnic Coffee Co. , [127] was opened in 1989 on Trafalgar Street. Several cafés followed in the 1990s. Brighton has now become recognised for elegant artisan coffee shops and independent cafés which serve a wide range of coffees, tea, cakes and light meals, including South American specialities.

[128] These include The Bohemia on Gloucester Road which was awarded first prize for Best Independent Caterer at the 2007 British Catering Awards [129] and Brick House Bakery Cafe on Regency Street. [126] A recent addition to the coffee scene is 2010's Copa Vida, which grinds Brazilian-sourced coffee beans on site and roasts them in their kitchen—. Brighton has a wide range of cafés, restaurants and eateries catering to most budgets and tastes. The dining scene includes traditional fish and chip shops, chicken shops, themed restaurants, cafes, coffee houses and modern gastropubs.

[127] Restaurants in the city include American-themed places such as Joe's Pizza , [128] Italian restaurants such as Spuntino [129] and Trattoria Doppio Zero , [130] French restaurants including Café Rouge, Brasserie Blanc , Benjy's and Le Galliard,[131][132][133] Japanese restaurants such as Yo! Sushi ,[134] Indian restaurants such as Dishoom[135][136][137] and Thai venues such as Bultramee Thai. A common local nickname for restaurants serving ethnic foods, particularly Turkish foods, is "shish". [127] The high number of restaurants, delis and coffee houses in Brighton is in part due to the unusually high proportion of businesses involved in the selling and preparation of food.

Museums

There are several other holdings at Brighton Museum and Art Gallery itself, including archaeology, geology, numismatics, social history and art. Preston Manor's notable collections include the Grundy English Rose Garden in the Manor Court garden; Built by Sir Henry Halford, they were given to the town in 1905 courtesy of Bleasdale Preston of Preston Manor. 'Booth Museum'has exhibits related to Brighton's fishing industry as well as a display on speedway legend Bluey Wilkinson. Museums of the City of Brighton and Hove include the Royal Pavilion, The Brighton Toy and Model Museum, The Jane Austen Centre (closed in December 2011), Brighthelmston's Eye Witness museum, The Shipwreck museum, The Bevendean Diorama, Brighton Fishing Museum, The Booth Museum of Natural History at Cholmondeley Castle, Preston Manor house & grounds, The Bishops Palace ruins, and the Brighton Sea Life Conservation centre.

Museums in Brighton include the Royal Pavilion, Brighton Museum & Art Gallery, Booth Museum of Geology, Preston Manor, Buildings of England: a gallery of architectural heritage and the newly formed Old Steine Clocktower Museums. There are also other small permanent exhibitions open throughout the city including The Dick Whittington Gallery on the history of Dick Whittington and his cat. Museums in Brighton include Brighton Museum & Art Gallery, Preston Manor, the Royal Pavilion, the Booth Museum of Natural History, the Brighton Toy and Model Museum, the Brighton Fishing Museum (the oldest fishing museum in Britain), and several branches of the Royal Pavilion.

Night-life and popular music

A night-life hotspot is an area of concentrated activity where bars, clubs, music venues, restaurants and shops come together to provide entertainment, recreation and a place to meet friends for people aged 18–30 in the UK. [152] Brighton's main night-life district is around St James's Street. Popular music groups include local bands Made in China, White Rose Movement, Goldblade, King among others. Large gigs take place at The Concorde 2 on Ship Street which has the capacity for 1,500 people,[153] and the venue Junktion7 (formerly Concorde 1) on Old Steine.

Theatre

Throughout the year the city is host to a number of festivals, cultural and artistic shows, and sporting events. In April the Brighton Marathon is run each year on the city streets. The Brighton Festival is an international arts festival that takes place in May, and lasts for three weeks. [131] It was started in 2011, and incorporates several genres of performance arts including theatre, comedy, music, circus and dance as well as visual art from local, national and international artists.

[132] The festival culminates in a free carnival for which hundreds of performers gather together in costume to parade through the streets. The Preston Park International Festival takes place every July at the Preston Park grounds and surrounding areas. The Lewes Bonfire Festival is an annual event that takes. The Old Market theatre closed in June 2004 following a fire, which destroyed much of the interior; it caused approximately half a million pounds worth of damage.

Plans for a new theatre, to be called the KOMEDIA, were unveiled in February 2008. The Council-backed proposals are for the 500-seater auditorium, designed by Broadway production designer Roger Glossop and named Brighton's newest landmark, located at the heart of Brighton's cultural quarter and adjacent to the newly extended Harvey Nichols store. It is hoped that the new complex will encourage more shows to visit. The Pavilion theatre was extensively renovated in late 2008 and reopened early 2009.

The Brighton Dome was once the largest music venue in Britain, and regularly hosted conferences and meetings as well as rock concerts. The Dome Concert Hall closed in 2002 due to damage caused by the discovery of a structural weakness in the building. It re-opened in February 2010 after a £27m renovation under the direction of Hugh Broughton Architecture. [156] Together with the adjacent Pavilion Theatre and Conference Centre, it forms an impressive architectural complex on top of the Old Steine funicular railway.

The Brighton Dome was officially opened on 20 October 1806 with a performance of Macbeth. It was the permanent home of the company founded by impresario Edward Tompkins before finally closing in 1969. The Pavilion Theatre on the basement site of the former Brighton Royal Aquarium, was until 2007 best known for being the regular home to Britain's longest running production Cats[156]. It reopened in December 2007 having been completely refurbished as a modern arts complex, now known as Komedia.

Parks

Parks link the city districts together and are important green spaces in a sea of urban development. The city's parks include Stanmer Park on the northern edge of Brighton, which extends into the South Downs National Park; Preston Park on the east of the city, which has many uses including sports, recreation and nature conservation; and The Level , a park along an area of flat open space at the western edge of the city adjoining Moulsecoomb.

Other popular parks include East Brighton Park in Kemptown and Wild Park , which lies within the South Downs National Park . Towards the southern end of the city are Victoria Gardens, a small but stylish park in typically Victorian style. [157]. Parks and recreation are taken seriously in Brighton. The city boasts 123 parks, playgrounds and open spaces managed by the council. [157][158] These include allotments;[159] major parks like Preston Park and many others such as Moulsecoomb Grassland which enables access for disabled people; enclosed children's play areas; skating areas made of smooth concrete (skateboarding is not allowed here); bowling greens; tennis courts; sports fields and outdoor fitness equipment.

The long-distance South Downs Way national trail, which previously ran through the centre of Brighton was altered to allow for better pedestrian access and now runs on the western edge of the city. Brighton's parks were improved in the early 19th century by William Pashley, who helped to found the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. He created Preston Park in 1808 and later laid out grounds at Ditchling for Richard Turner, owner of the Brighton Pavilion.

Pashley designed Stanmer Park (1811)—a "great achievement" according to Nikolaus Pevsner—and North Moulsecoomb Park (originally Norwood Grove) in 1826. The Seven Acres recreation ground was purchased in 1827 as a gift from city businessmen. [161] During the 20th century, the Corporation built Victoria Gardens on an old sewage works, and Queen's Park was laid out in the 1930s on land donated. Parks in Brighton include Preston Park, the largest in the city. East Brighton Park covers 20 acres (81,000 m2) and was one of the first municipal parks established by Charles Hammond in 1882.

Wild Park opened on 19 May 1969 and is a Local Nature Reserve. Other parks. Brighton's other parks include Coronation, Jubilee, Bond, Dyke, Marina , St Ann's Well Gardens (formerly the pleasure grounds of a large house),[158] Hollingbury Wood, Patcham Square, and Stanmer Park. [126] Brighton is well known for its fish and seafood options as well as its vegetarian restaurants. Brighton has a large concentration of cafes, restaurants and fast-food outlets. [127] Around the Crescent and Dyke Road districts, cafes are particularly popular.

Air

Brighton Airport (previously named Brighton City Airport) is the closest airport to Brighton. However, due to ongoing legal disputes between the airport and the Ministry of Defence, there are currently no scheduled services to this airport. The runway overlaps the military establishment Shoreham Airfield which restricts heavily the types of aircraft that can land there. A 24-hour airport into which Ryanair, easyJet and Jet2. com all fly, it's very affordable to get the train to Brighton from London.

And it's a beautiful ride through the country -- and if you happen to get motion sickness, hold your nose for some time because when you pull into Brighton, the smells will be some of the most invigorating in the country!. Brighton Airport is the main airport serving the city of Brighton and Hove. They offer flights to several international destinations, including Milan, Ibiza, Singapore and Dubai. There are also regular flights to Dublin and Belfast with return tickets being as cheap as £25 each way.