Chapel Street Car Park Set to Close as St James' House Rebuilds
Brighton's Chapel Street car park with 81 spaces will not be replaced when the condemned tower block above it is demolished and rebuilt with new flats.
Chapel Street car park closure confirmed
Brighton and Hove City Council has indicated it will not reinstate Chapel Street car park when St James' House is demolished and rebuilt. The 81-space public car park, which underwent a major renovation four years ago, has been closed since July 2024 for safety reasons.
The closure was discussed at the council's Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting on 3 November. The committee was given an update on plans to demolish eight high-rise blocks, including St James' House, due to concerns that their "large-panel system" construction does not meet modern safety standards following a review prompted by the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire.
Labour councillor Gary Wilkinson, who represents Kemptown ward, raised concerns about the permanent closure. He questioned what assessments had been carried out and highlighted potential effects on disabled visitors, businesses requiring loading access and displacement parking in nearby streets.
Cost concerns cited
The committee was told that replacing the car park would prove too costly during the development of new flats. Whilst the council would lose parking charge income, it would no longer need to pay £44,000 in annual business rates for the site. Chantelle Barker, the council's director of housing regeneration, said the architect's brief did not include a car park because of the expense of building underneath a new high-rise block.
Pattern of losses
The Chapel Street closure is part of a wider pattern of car park losses in the city. Carlton Hill car park, with 52 spaces in Kingswood Street, closed when the former Circus Street fruit and vegetable market was redeveloped. The council also plans to demolish the Norton Road car park in Hove, which previously had 290 spaces before a refurbishment last year reduced capacity to 180. Additionally, there are concerns that the 120 spaces at King Alfred car park on Hove seafront may be lost when a new swimming pool, leisure centre and hundreds of flats are built on that site.
Next steps
The council's transport team will carry out a public consultation to inform the formal closure process. Cabinet is expected to decide whether to approve the process leading to permanent closure at a meeting on 12 November at Hove Town Hall.
Source: read the full story