Mortar Nova Grand Avenue, who bought King’s House in Hove from Brighton & Hove City Council in October, have announced that their proposals for the site will go on show at a public consultation exhibition on 26 and 27 January 2018.
The sale of Kings House enabled Brighton & Hove City council to refurbish Hove Town Hall, move staff across to that building with no loss of jobs, save £2million a year in operating costs and also invest in better customer services for residents, whilst reducing their carbon emissions by 27 per cent.
Alan Coleman, co-director of Mortar Nova Grand Avenue, said, “We are proposing to restore King’s House to its former glory, refurbishing the Grade II listed building and re-introducing some of its original external features, including changing its use back to its original intention, which is residential homes.
“We are also proposing a high quality new building in place of the 1980’s extension and we are keen to hear local people’s views on our draft plans, which will be ready to view in January.”
King’s House site is located on the seafront between Grand and Second Avenue and fronting Queens Gardens in Hove. The original five-storey building facing the seafront is Grade II listed and was built in 1870 as a series of terraces that were joined together to form the Princes Hotel. It was repurposed during the war when it became HMS Lizard and was used for training of service personnel. After the War the building was purchased by the South Eastern Electricity Board and converted into offices for their use. It was extensively refurbished and an underground car park was added as well as a four-storey rear extension in the 1980s. It was vacated in the late 1980s and remained empty until Brighton and Hove City Council moved in during the 90’s, refurbishing it once again to suit purpose.
The public exhibition will run from 6-9.30pm on Friday 26th January and 10am-4pm on Saturday 27th January at Cornerstone Community Centre, on the corner of Church Road and First Avenue in Hove, BN3 2FL.
