Brighton and Hove City Council give opportunity for public art commission at new Portslade council housing scheme

The artwork will take pride of place in the new public space in Victoria Road, Portslade, next to the Town Hall.

The housing project, which contains 42 new council homes, is one of the largest in the Brighton and Hove City Council's New Homes for Neighbourhoods building programme.

The development will be made up of a mix of one, two and three-bedroom flats, with a range of sustainability features, and is due to be completed in the autumn. All the homes will be let to people on the council’s housing register.

The artwork will be a permanent feature and the council welcomes applications from artists and designers working in all disciplines.

The deadline for the open call is midday Monday 7 February 2022.

Building for the future

The Victoria Road development will be the first new council housing project in the city with a ground source heat pump system to provide heating and hot water for residents, as part of the council's commitment to cut carbon emissions.

According to the City Council, other sustainability features will include solar panels and high levels of insulation, along with living walls on some sides of the blocks of flats which will be planted with wild flowers and watered with recycled rainwater.

The council said there will be bird and bat boxes, and bee bricks, to encourage wildlife, plus a communal garden for residents with a small orchard and raised planting beds for community use.

Councillor Siriol Hugh-Jones, co-chair of the Housing Committee, said: “We are proud of the high-quality and sustainable design of the council homes currently under construction in Victoria Road.

“Along with the new housing, the scheme is bringing benefits for the local community, including a new civic space, and we are pleased to be launching this public art commission for the site.

“We particularly hope local artists and designers will apply and look forward to seeing the ideas for this exciting project.”

The flats are being built on the site of a former housing office and bowls club, behind Portslade Town Hall.

A new sports pavilion has already been built and opened nearby in Victoria Recreation Ground, as part of the project, to provide a new home for Portslade Bowls Club.

Facilities at the pavilion include an outdoor artificial all-weather bowling green, a short mat indoor bowls area, changing rooms, and a kitchen. It also has football changing rooms and a kiosk for serving refreshments for people attending football matches at the recreation ground.

READ MORE:

Final phase of seafront revamp - Brighton’s Valley Garden project

Iconic LGBTQ+ Brighton hotel sold for £5 million