Circus Street development will "unlock potential", says Brighton and Hove City Council leader Phélim Mac Cafferty

Brighton and Hove City Council leader Phélim Mac Cafferty was on hand at a ribbon cutting ceremony for the Circus Street development on Wednesday (November 3).

The site, which was originally a fruit and veg market, has been regenerated into a space which includes 142 homes, 450 student bedrooms and 30,000sq ft of new office space.

Cllr Mac Cafferty said the development was ‘key to unlocking the potential to the city’. “Having been involved in this project for almost a decade, it has been absolutely inspiring to watch these paper plans rise into these distinguished buildings out of the ground,” Cllr Mac Cafferty said.

The redevelopment has been delivered by property developer U+I in a £130million public private partnership with Brighton and Hove City Council. Both groups believe the regenerated site

will create more than 400 new jobs and contribute more than £200 million to the economy over the next 10 years.

Award-winning architects ShedKM designed the state-of-the-art environmental building. Focusing on building biodiversity in the area, with more than 100 trees planted centrally in the complex as an emblem of regeneration and growth.

Richard Upton, chief executive of U+I, said at the opening: “What we’ve managed to build here with our partners is so much more than a series of buildings.

“It’s a lovely place that produces hundreds of homes, thousands of jobs and significant sustainable economic activity and most importantly a new place for the people of the surrounding area to eat, drink, sit, fall in love and enjoy world class culture.”

The space will also contain the new home for South East Dance in the city’s first purpose-built dance house, which will open its doors next summer.

Artistic director of South East Dance, Cath James, said: “It’s a real milestone in our own journey as we prepare to make our new home in the dance space.”