Mitre House hotel approved

Plans to convert the north block of Mitre House into a 3-star hotel were approved by the planning committee on 3rd November 2010. But the committee imposed a condition on the scheme. This condition means the hotel's back door in Hampton Street can only be used in an emergency.

The owners of Mitre House had wanted to use the Hampton Street door as a secondary exit for hotel guests returning after a night on the town. The association was concerned about night time noise from returning revellers could have disturbed people living in Spring Street, Hampton Street and Hampton Place.

The owners can now add a single-storey mansard roof to the north block, which extends along the south side of Hampton Street.The council planners had recommended approving the plan so this was alway going to be an uphill battle.

Richard Killick, who was an MCHA committee member until the AGM in May 2011, spoke on behalf of a number of local residents in Spring Street, Hampton Street and Hampton Place as well as the Clifton Montpelier Powis Community Alliance and the MCHA. He asked the committee to reject the hotel plan because of the disturbance it would cause local residents, but also asked them to limit the use of the Hampton Street door if they decided to approve the plans.

The committee did decide to approve the plan but decided to ban the Hampton Street door from being used by guests, except in an emergency. The door will be alarmed to prevent any unauthorised use by guests.

Mitre House's tall storey

The owners of Mitre House have submitted a second planning application to extend the top storey of the south block. The main impact of this plans is to add an extra storey to the Spring Street elevation of Mitre House.

This proposal would spoil sea views from up the hill in the conservation area. The worst affected views are likely to be those from Spring Street, Clifton Place and the west end of Clifton Terrace.

Mitre House is already the tallest building on Western Road and the council would be unlikely to grant planning permission for a building of this height under the current rules. The council defines a tall building as one with six storeys or more. Western Road is not in one of the zones that the council has designated for tall buildings so the owners may have some difficulty in getting this application approved.

The culture secretary has turned down the MCHA's attempt to list the French protestant church listed. The church is in the city’s Regency Square conservation area, tucked away behind the seafront in a mews that partly serves the adjacent Metropole Hotel.

   The church closed in 2008 and is now a private house.

   We asked English Heritage to list the building largely because of its cultural significance. But the culture secretary ruled that its architecture wasn't good enough to be worth listing. The association decided not to appeal against this ruling. It is notoriously difficult to get Victorian building listed.

   The French Protestant Church of Brighton is the only Huguenot church in Britain outside London and is conveniently located opposite the Queensbury Tavern—also known as the Hole in the Wall. The only other purpose-built Huguenot church is on the north side of Soho Square in London. The Brighton church predates the one in Soho Square by half a dozen years. English Heritage wrote to the association in December to say that the Culture Secretary was considering listing the building.
    The church was built in 1887 to serve the 2,000-strong French-speaking community, many of whom were protestants. This Francophone community is an important part of the city’s heritage. This was not just a community of  rich folk, but a cross section of classes, ranging from French governesses down to hotel staff and servants.  
Part of the inspiration for this modest building programme came from the celebrations surrounding the 200th anniversary of the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, in which the Confederate Churches of the Huguenots of London, Canterbury and Brighton played a prominent part. The Huguenot Churches of Holland and local supporters helped to raise the money needed to build the church.The red-brick church was designed by the local architect John G. Gibbins (1843-1932), who had offices in both Brighton and London.  Gibbins was a prolific designer of public buildings and the French protestant church is designed in a simple style for a small congregation. It is reminiscent of chapels in northern France.