THE designs for the King Alfred can be changed to something more “exciting” and “iconic”, the charity boss behind the scheme has claimed.

Rob Starr said the current design was “not a million miles” from what his team, the council and the city wanted from the scheme but alterations can still be made.

The Hove businessman said there could be modifications but not “dramatic” changes in response to criticism from readers of The Argus in an exclusive Q&A.

The designs revealed in January have been unfavourably likened to Croydon and the Costa Brava by its harshest critics with a public consultation on the plans due to begin this summer.

Mr Starr also responded to readers’ concerns that they will not have a Hove leisure centre during the three years of construction for the new £40 million sports facility.

He said his team had explored the possibility but calculated it would add at least three years to the project, more than £30 million to it's costs and require almost 200 more flats to finance it.

Mr Starr added that there was no guarantee the ageing centre could even last that long having been forced to close after damage sustained by Storm Imogen.

He added readers hoping for an ice rink or a laser quest will be disappointed but those who want cafes, bars and a cinema will find that at the new King Alfred.

Mr Starr responded to further criticism of the King Alfred plans from readers about its “bland design”.

He said: “Yes we do expect some changes.

“In terms of how far that will go, we are not a million miles from where we want to be, where the council wants us to be and where a lot of the city wants us to be.

“Where we can change it is where we could create something more exciting in terms of realm, in terms of creating something more iconic.

“There were parts in our original proposals that we left out to give people the future option for that.

“There will be changes but will they be dramatic? "We hope not, we stand by what we have done.”

ROB STARR ANSWERS YOUR QUESTIONS

Hove Actually: How much profit will The Starr Trust be making from the taxpayer?

Rolivan: Will The Starr Trust be receiving all income from the rental and why had they been given funding by the council? 

Rob Starr: We have not been given taxpayers' money to do this.

They are contributing to the leisure centre [£8 million] but the council will be receiving a proportion of the capital receipts from the site and so the development should be at no cost to them.

With the new leisure centre we will be saving the council £1 million every year in running costs.

We are a not-for-profit so any profit will go back into the building, it will allow us to give the space back to the city, to certain groups for nothing or a nominal fee, and any excess money will be given out as scholarships to children in the city.

Our partners, our developers and architects will make a profit but if they weren’t making a profit they wouldn’t be doing this.

Lou Stoner: What alternative arrangements will be made for current leisure centre users during the three years of construction? 

Rob Starr: For the people in Hove, there are other sporting facilities in Brighton, Shoreham or Burgess Hill that are not that far away.

We did look at keeping the current King Alfred going while we built the other one.

But it would elongate the build to seven years, while the cost of that longer build time would have to be met by increasing the number of flats from 565 to 750, that’s an additional 20 per cent on the build cost [£160 million]. 

SaveHove: How will you stop the public realm space and St Aubyns South from becoming wind-swept canyons?

Rob Starr: To a certain extent there’s not a lot we can do to change the weather but we are looking at ways to mitigate it.

In the previous Karis scheme there was a tall building that abutted right up to them and created a wind tunnel that was more powerful than a jumbo jet. So we have put our buildings there at a much lower height.

We have also created a lot of open space and public access to the buildings which will dissipate a lot of that.

Brighton Bluenose: How does the sports centre cost £40 million when Eastbourne College is building a four-storey, state-of-the-art sports centre with a 25m pool for £23 million?

Rob Starr: We are not just building a 25-metre pool with some leisure facilities.

We are creating a potentially world class leisure centre which will be the best of its kind in the South East.

We have so much going into that space.

When the council said two years ago that it would cost £40 million we said we could probably do it for £30 million.

But over that time we have looked very closely at the numbers and they are right.

Melee: Will there be adequate access to the pool for disabled and less able-bodied swimmers?

Rob Starr: We have been considering accessibility every step of the way from day one.

Our leisure architects has an accessibility expert on their team who is disabled themself.

If you look at the fly-through video for the leisure centre, we have done everything to make it accessible for all.

Several readers: Will there be a cinema, an arts venue similar to the Ropetackle, an ice rink or a MegaZone Laser Quest?

Rob Starr: In terms of a Megazone, I think that is a Brighton thing not a Hove thing.

I fully support the ice rink campaign and if they want to talk to me about how a non-developer can find a developer partner and make an ice rink happen like I did with the King Alfred then I am happy to help. 

But the King Alfred is not the right site for an ice rink.

We have got a flexible hall that can be used for theatre, used for performance, can be used for a pull down screen.

I have had talks with the Duke of York’s; they can stream to us.