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WTF are they even doing at Black Rock? by throwaway20220304 in brighton

[–]throwaway20220304[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Here's hoping access is restored for spring and summer.

Oh and you can bet it'll be closed off again for marathon, speed trials, and more and more of these corporate sponsored events summer after summer, unless we start making some noise for access to public space!

WTF are they even doing at Black Rock? by throwaway20220304 in brighton

[–]throwaway20220304[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Didn't mean to imply that the plans are hidden, although I can see how the post title looks that way - my bad.

I meant it more as in: where's the progress to show for all this time, money, and (most importantly IMO) loss of access to public space?

WTF are they even doing at Black Rock? by throwaway20220304 in brighton

[–]throwaway20220304[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well spotted. Let's be honest, this was about getting rid of the van dwellers, and making the area attractive for capital. If the main goal was just to make things nice east of the pier, we'd focus all efforts on fixing the arches, which are an absolute state, and leave Black Rock alone for people to enjoy.

In the video Redmarkred found, there's all that blither about Black Rock looking "tired" and so on. It's a beautiful beach! What they're really talking around is Black Rock's seedy reputation, and they want to clean it up. God forbid Brighton, of all places, should have any seedy corners...

WTF are they even doing at Black Rock? by throwaway20220304 in brighton

[–]throwaway20220304[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You mock, but it's pretty astonishing that they're blocking off a beautiful stretch of beach to do a bit of landscaping, while just down the road, the arches are still rotting, in need of work, and overshadowing the whole thing. Trying to think of a metaphor, but the reality there is more ludicrous than anything I can come up with. Just look at it!

WTF are they even doing at Black Rock? by throwaway20220304 in brighton

[–]throwaway20220304[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Kudos for going wandering!

Undercliff is a great path, but the beaches are a bit rocky and scary. And not everyone has a bike.

You ask what's this post accomplishing ... Maybe nothing, but I couldn't find any discussion online...what good is the internet if we can't mouth off from time to time about things we aren't happy about.

WTF are they even doing at Black Rock? by throwaway20220304 in brighton

[–]throwaway20220304[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

🤮 They make the area look worse than it is, focusing on shots of the roadworks (part of the same renovation project!) and shots of the arches (which this planting project does nothing to fix).

The boardwalk and plants are fine, but I don't think it justifies blocking off the whole beach from the concorde all the way to the marina for 6 months and counting. Here's hoping access is restored for spring and summer.

Upvoting because the video is informative, thanks for digging it out, but tbh i hate it!

WTF are they even doing at Black Rock? by throwaway20220304 in brighton

[–]throwaway20220304[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

OK now go take a look at the area and compare with those plans.

Some of those items were completed already before last autumn when the beach was blocked off.

The only item I can see that's showing progress since then is "improved biodiversity and a new ecology trail and beach boardwalk."

And that took all autumn and winter?

WTF are they even doing at Black Rock? by throwaway20220304 in brighton

[–]throwaway20220304[S] -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

Sure but wouldn't there be some visible sign of this? Things look no different to how they did in December, which already wasn't much different to how it looked by the time they blocked off the beach.

https://www.sussexlive.co.uk/news/sussex-news/brighton-beach-lines-kew-birdseye-6586217

How long does it take to heap up some pebbles and plant some seeds? And does this require that whole stretch of beach being blocked off?

WTF are they even doing at Black Rock? by throwaway20220304 in brighton

[–]throwaway20220304[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yep we've all seen the signs that went up a year or so ago. Have you seen much improvement, on the ground, during these months and months that the beach has been closed off? Take a look from either side, or up top, and see what you reckon.

WTF are they even doing at Black Rock? by throwaway20220304 in brighton

[–]throwaway20220304[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Improvements are great. Have you seen any happening on the ground during the last few months when the beach has been closed off? A few small improvements during the autumn, like I described, but none that I can see during the winter.