A new system of linked parks in Brighton’s city centre has improved air quality, sustainable transport and biodiversity.
The redevelopment of Valley Gardens is important to Brighton and Hove’s future on so many levels that it’s hard to know where to begin.
The scheme – to completely reorganise this central piece of public realm, and the settings of the historical buildings, parks and trees within it – has been in development for almost a decade.
The site contains some of Brighton’s most important listed buildings and open spaces, and connects the heart of the city to the seafront. It is also where the three major traffic routes into the city converge, and we inherited a counterintuitive highways layout, with inconsistent pedestrian access and high pollution levels.
This project was always going to be significant, in terms of transforming how Brighton’s residents and visitors experience Valley Gardens, and how they travel through and around it.
But it’s also significant for how we, as a council, intend to lead by example when it comes to the most pressing issues that face cities today: active and safer travel, greener streets, cleaner air, and – even in the most dense urban environment – how we increase biodiversity and champion the use of green spaces for people’s health and wellbeing.
As a council, we have a clear goal to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030. This project and others will help us realise it.
The working relationships that have driven this project have been critical to its success. Working with landscape and architecture studio Untitled Practice, and highway consultants Project Centre, we fully examined all these different needs, values and ambitions. Working with public realm designer Urban Movement, we re-evaluated and reorganised traffic routes, to make the most of this redevelopment.
The results are breathtaking. The almost 2.62 hectares of ‘linked park system’ – inspired by Frederick Law Olmsted’s ‘Emerald Necklace’ in Boston – make travelling through Valley Gardens seamless and uplifting. Highways modifications coordinated with pedestrian crossings have improved accessibility for pedestrians and cyclists. Footpaths are wider, and a new dedicated cycle lane runs continuously through the parks.
“The working relationships that have driven this project have been critical to its success”
Linking pathways weave through the parks, framed by layers of soft landscape. Existing trees have been reintegrated, and new street, avenue, grove and arboretum trees introduced.
There are new perennial gardens, lawns and wildflower meadows – including a 650m-long ‘river of flowers’ that flows along the east side of the park, screening cyclists and pedestrians from traffic.
The scheme delivers an attractive new public park for the city centre, provides safer walking and cycling links, enhances the appearance and setting of historic buildings, and creates new urban spaces to support Brighton’s major programme of annual events.
The new landscape supports biodiversity, improves local microclimate, enhances air quality, and makes Brighton a healthier, more inviting, enjoyable place to live.
The redevelopment completes at a time when COVID-19 has given us a renewed appreciation of outdoors, and when city cycle routes and green spaces are at the top of every council agenda.
It is an exemplar project in terms of public space creation, particularly as it anticipates a post-pandemic world – a model of how intelligent design can make our cities more liveable, and a fantastic example of how green infrastructure can make our cities more resilient to climate change.
With phases one and two complete, we’re looking ahead to the final part of the corridor that will connect the space to the seafront.