ePetition - Compulsory Purchase Medina House, Kings Esplanade, Hove

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ePetition details

Compulsory Purchase Medina House, Kings Esplanade, Hove

We the undersigned petition Brighton & Hove Council to Compulsory Purchase Medina House, 9 Kings Esplanade, Hove.

In the dying days of Hove Borough Council late Victorian Medina House (1894) was sold to Sirus Taghan. Some 16 or so years on, and many failed planning applications later, the last saltwater bathhouse standing has also suffered two unexplained fires on its top floor.

The second of these fires occurred on the evening of 20th December, 2014 and was extinguished without the roof being breached or damaged (which the fire service feared could happen).

Medina House sits in the Cliftonville Conservation Area and is on the local list of buildings of local importance but it is not a Listed building (which many think it is). Its' Royal Doulton tiling has been removed/vandalised. Its' pool infilled with concrete. It has survived two fires under its roof and, with the surviving cottages of Sussex Road and Victoria Cottages abutting its back wall area it forms a single, untouched and unified heritage unit up to the Kingsway and Victoria Terrace (which is Grade 2 Listed).

It was built as a bath house. It was used for diamond cutting before it was sold to Sirus Taghan. Ideas for conversion have included: art gallery, boutique hotel, housing and a spa.

As a result of a saveHOVE petition and campaign, a Planning Brief was created by Brighton & Hove City Council which recognises its worth as a building to retain. It is time this building was restored and brought back into use and the present owner refuses to do it. Before any more damage accrues, the time has come for Brighton & Hove City Council to step in and buy it by compulsory purchase order.

This ePetition ran from 21/12/2014 to 18/03/2015 and has now finished.

211 people signed this ePetition.

Council response

The petition will be presented to the Policy & Resources Commitee on the 19th March 2015.

 


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