Number's up for these landmarks

11:33am Wednesday 8th October 2008

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Two of the saddest sights in Brighton and Hove are handsome buildings standing forlorn and derelict because of planning delays.

One is the former Royal Alexandra Hospital for Sick Children in Dyke Road. The other is the Gala Bingo Hall, once the ABC cinema, in Portland Road.

The Alex has moved to the Royal Sussex County Hospital site in Brighton. Meanwhile, the old building is being slowly vandalised.

Broken windows are everywhere and there are signs of occupation by squatters.

I’m told that security has been stepped up to prevent further damage but neighbours remain unhappy with its condition.

Back in May 2007, I wrote a column condemning plans for replacing the Alex as tawdry and tacky. It was a faceless modern design taking no account of the hilltop site or the fine building on it.

Now Taylor Wimpey has produced a much better scheme designed by the architects responsible for the acclaimed Van Alen building in Marine Parade.

Not only does the design echo the pleasing curves of the original building but it also steps down to meet the heights of neighbouring buildings.

The scheme is slightly less bulky than it was. It has the merit of providing a new doctors’ surgery for the area, a communal garden for residents, and a public open space.

Forty per cent of the 151 flats would be available for affordable housing, much needed in the centre of Brighton and Hove.

There is little doubt that further changes could and should be made to this design to meet concerns of residents. The section along Dyke Road must be enhanced.

Selma Montford, of the Brighton Society, feels the frontage is still too brash. She would like to see another storey knocked off it.

She also says the Dyke Road design is crude and forbidding.

There should be gaps to lighten and brighten it.

There is still the issue over whether the new building should be agreed or whether Brighton and Hove City Council should insist on the conversion of the old hospital.

A great deal of sentiment surrounds the Alex, which was much loved. But the deed of moving the hospital is done.

Is the old building worth preserving?

Attempts to have it listed have failed, although it does happen to be in a conservation area.

The Alex was designed by Thomas Lainson, a gifted local architect also responsible for Hove Museum and the lovely synagogue in Middle Street, Brighton.

It is an imposing, ornate structure which looks particularly good from the south east. But it is, in some respects, rather lumpy and no one would claim it was the best work of Lainson. It has also been badly marred by insensitive additions.

The trouble is that converting awkward old buildings into housing is almost twice as expensive as building new ones.

Taylor Wimpey says if conversion took place new housing would have to be provided next to it of a size and scale not suited to the area.

Well, they would say that wouldn’t they? But the developers have so far met many concerns voiced by people in Homelees House, the large sheltered housing block immediately north of the Alex.

They are satisfied that the section of new development next to their flats will not dominate them.

Even more convincing is the reaction of the district valuer, who is independent. He says that converting the old hospital is not economically viable.

Now the council’s conservation officer has agreed, saying that no likely viable alternative use is possible.

He adds: “Our attention should now focus on securing a new development of the highest architectural quality.”

I also recall that when the Van Alen building was proposed, many councillors did not like it and it was passed only reluctantly. Now it is a prized feature of the seafront.

My heart tells me the council should insist that the old Alex be preserved. My head tells me it would be better to go for a landmark replacement on the lines of the current proposal.

Over in Hove, the ABC cinema was a landmark building in its own way. It was in the art deco style and provided entertainment for more than 50 years.

But rather like Portland Gate, the flats that were its near neighbour until a decade ago, the ABC was not deemed worthy of preservation.

I always had a sneaking regard for this cinema. When last renovated about 15 years ago it looked grand and impressive.

It also could have been converted into a thriving arts centre and might even have given the city the sort of large performance space it badly lacks for major events.

But the issue now is not one of retention. It is of what should replace the old hall.

Some residents say the current scheme for 38 flats is too big for the site and does not have enough parking. Another group, consisting mainly of traders, argues the flats would bring vitality to an area the derelict hall has blighted for far too long.

I am firmly with the traders.

Portland Road needs a boost and this scheme would provide it.

Affordable housing is badly needed in an area with more than its fair share of deprivation and a doctors’ surgery is also offered as part of the package.

There is already a parking scheme locally and the bus service is so good that many residents will not own cars. Aldrington and Portslade stations are less than half a mile away.

The new flats will be a medium to large development but will lack the solid bulk of the old cinema building. I rather fancy that if the flats are passed and the development is built people will be wondering in a few years what all the fuss was about.

But I fear that they will not be approved by councillors and that it will take a public inquiry to put things right.

What do you think of the proposals for the two sites? Give us your opinion below.