THE £10 million transformation of Brighton Town into an international business hub has been given the thumbs up from councillors.

The Grade II building in Bartholomew Square is under occupied and facing a maintenance bill of more than £2 million over the next five years.

Under council plans the town hall would be remodelled as a “multi-sector hub for business growth, international trade, inward investment activity and destination marketing”.

A high-end restaurant and café are also proposed to expand the wedding service and offer a venue for the mayor to host dignitaries.

Unions claim the plans prioritise old buildings over the welfare of staff who will be forced to squeeze into ever reducing office space.

The refurbishment is being considered after political leaders rejected selling the building on a long lease for around £3 million.

Proposed alternative uses including a boutique hotel, a spa, members’ club or serviced apartments were considered unsuitable and less economically beneficially than a restaurant.

Under-used council offices could be rented out to businesses or Government bodies while the council chamber, which has hosted one council meeting since October, could be used for lectures to generate additional income.

The second floor would be retained as council office space, accommodating staff moved from lower floors, although others will be relocated to other council offices.

Officers warned displacing services would put pressure on remaining office buildings, already reduced by 57 per cent, and could require them to be expanded.

The council hopes commercial rental income could generate up to £600,000 a year to help meet up to £8.8 million of required borrowing while the Heritage Lottery Fund is considered another funding option.

GMB branch secretary Mark Turner said it was hypocritical for the council to support retaining Brighton Town Hall after advocating the closure of Hove Library because of high maintenance costs and its unsuitability to adaption.

He added: “The concern is moving more staff into smaller and smaller places, cramming more and more in.

“I am already hearing that sickness rates in Hove Town Hall are going up and that’s what comes from all this hot desking.

“If a building is surplus to requirements maybe it is better to sell it rather than scrambling around for a use for it.”

Conservative group leader Councillor Geoffrey Theobald said: “There are people who say ‘why not sell the building’, we are not very good at selling buildings and it would not be easy to sell as a listed building.

“The building is not used to its full capacity but for it to become a focal point for business, trade and university like Manchester City Hall which is used in that way, I wish it well.”

Green councillor Ollie Sykes said he resented the need to put cafes and restaurants into all public buildings to make them viable.

He also pressed for the refurbished town hall to be an exemplar low carbon building.

Boost city, mayors will be told

Brighton and Hove's future mayors will be asked to help support the city economy as part of changes to Brighton Town Hall.


The mayoralty will be asked to show the city is “open for business” to international investors.

Just three years ago, the future of the mayor in the city was in doubt because of severe funding cuts to the civic back office.

But now at a revised Brighton Town Hall, the power of the chain and robes will be harnessed to attract investment and support business campaigns and policy initiatives.

To support the mayor, the council has advocated recruiting city ambassadors, a small pool of business figures to serve as volunteers.

The civic hub would be expanded with offices for the mayor and the lord lieutenant alongside corporate training facilities.

Council directors said they were following Government policy to harness civic offices for economic gain.

The town hall is half a mile from the city’s main conference venue, the Brighton Centre but much further away from its proposed replacement at Black Rock.

GMB branch secretary Mark Turner said the idea that the city mayor, a role often handed to councillors as reward for loyalty on the back benches, could drive forward the city’s economy was more “pie-in-the-sky” thinking.

Conservative Tony Janio warned ambassador roles should not be used to reward councillors leaving public office.