FIFTY years ago one of the biggest fires in the history of Hove destroyed the imposing town hall in Church Road.

The red-brick building had been a feature of Hove since the borough was created in the Victorian era. It was much loved by most people.

It was designed by Albert Waterhouse who was also responsible for the Hotel Metropole on Brighton seafront and the Natural History Museum in South Kensington.

There was no hope of restoring the town hall as only a small section survived. Rather appropriately in view of their age, councillors moved temporarily into Hove Museum while considering their next move.

What happened then was slightly surprising. A council renowned for its parsimony decided to spend £2.2 million on the replacement.

Councillors who were Conservative in every sense of the word opted for a radical design as far removed from the stately old building as possible.

The driving force behind these changes was Donald Edmonds, the council leader, a bright and persuasive politician.

There was much talk at the time of reorganising local government with one super council running all services in an area from the Adur to the Ouse.

Brighton’s ancient town hall, all staircases and pillars, was not nearly suitable to house the vast new authority. But Donald Edmonds and his dozy colleagues believed Hove would be ideal with its up-to-the-minute town hall.

Hove hired a bright young architect called John Wells-Thorpe to design the building as he had impressed councillors in 1962 by modernising George Street.

He came back with an uncompromising building, grey and full of glass, which looked like a distant relative of the National Theatre in London.

It took twice the space of the old buildings, necessitating the knocking down of several large houses in Norton and Tisbury Roads. There was also a large car park, little used in the days when parking in Hove was free.

Huge amounts of space were devoted to the public parts of the town hall such as the meeting rooms and the grand hall. The entrance, with rampant greenery, was redolent of a glasshouse at Kew Gardens.

But by the time the town hall opened in 1974, the super council idea had been abandoned and Hove remained much as it had been before.

Ironically even with far fewer staff than expected, they could not all fit in the new building and space had to be acquired in neighbouring Fourth Avenue. The new town hall was never loved in the way its predecessor was but it was undeniably impressive and an excellent example of its era.

Some Hove residents, including me, expected it to be listed. Instead its future was questioned by Brighton and Hove City Council which had to make cuts. It could have been sold but instead the council decided to dispose of the much more marketable King’s House, its HQ not far away in Grand Avenue.

That might fetch £20 million and could easily be converted into flats – after all, it was originally built as a hotel. Meanwhile Hove Town Hall is covered with unsightly scaffolding.

Extensions and alterations should mean it will be able to house many more officials than in the past but much of the building’s architectural integrity will have been destroyed in the process.

It cannot be pleasant for John Wells-Thorpe, who still lives in the city, to see his creation being knocked about in this way. Demolition and replacement might have been preferable.

I could hardly blame him if at dead of night he crept round the town hall with paraffin and a box of matches.

The Argus:

Football clubs are often an indication of how well the towns or cities which house them are faring.

A good example is Leicester, unlikely leaders in the Premier League after narrowly escaping relegation last year. Their success has galvanised the city and attracted enormous publicity.

Brighton and Hove Albion also just missed the drop and have been the surprise packet of the Championship this season.

They started the season with an extraordinary unbeaten run and (I write this before last night’s match against Birmingham) are set to make the play-offs even if they miss out on automatic promotion.

It ought to have the city buzzing with excitement yet the success of the Seagulls this year does not seem to have brought the usual fervour.

So let’s see a bit more pride and passion for the Seagulls as they attempt to become the third South Coast team in the Premiership.