Works to transform the public realm in the Old Steine to Palace Pier area of central Brighton have been approved. The third phase of the Valley Gardens scheme, led by Brighton & Hove City Council, will improve the experience of people living in and visiting the city, as well as improving safety for all users. Mott MacDonald has assisted the City Council on the design and traffic modelling elements of the project and helped secure funding from the Local Enterprise Partnership.
The redesign of the Old Steine and Palace Pier area covers the heart of the city centre, between the city’s historic Royal Pavilion and Palace Pier. The plans will enhance the arrival and departure experience for visitors to Brighton and reduce severance for pedestrians and cyclists by better connecting the seafront and surrounding areas with the city centre. It will also form part of the council’s wider Valley Gardens plans to create a vibrant and attractive public park for the city centre.
In order to develop designs which met the Council’s aspirations, Mott MacDonald established design objectives and developed appraisal criteria. These were used to assess an extensive longlist of options and provide a shortlist of four options which were developed further and subject to additional assessment.
Mott MacDonald delivered transport planning, urban design, traffic engineering and traffic modelling services on the scheme. This included preparing 3D visualisations using Infraworks, which were used extensively by the Council to support the public consultation. The consultancy also prepared a business case for the scheme which helped gain £6m funding from Coast to Capital Local Enterprise Partnership in January 2019.
Mott MacDonald’s project manager, Robin Reed said: “I am very happy that these designs to make Brighton easier to navigate for both residents and visitors have been approved. We worked closely with the Council on the design for the project and enjoyed using our Infraworks software to produce user friendly 3D visualisations and a fly-through video of plans, enabling people to engage with them in the planning stage.”
Construction on the scheme will commence in 2020.