The Brighton Paradox: RENEWAL

[00:00:00] This podcast is brought to you by Always Possible

[00:00:05] AlwaysPossible.co.uk

[00:00:39] I like collecting 3D puzzles and building them, so I guess that's kind of a hobby.

[00:00:46] We hung around the Spiegel tent for a bit, went to an exhibition about slime at the Phoenix Gallery.

[00:00:52] We chatted as we walked around the North Lane.

[00:00:55] What's your favourite thing about Brighton? What's the favourite thing you've ever done here?

[00:01:00] I don't really know.

[00:01:05] I liked going to Paradox Place, but that's now gone.

[00:01:10] I also like the museums, but they do get a bit boring if you go 20 times.

[00:01:18] I liked the escape room we did. That was fun.

[00:01:24] Do you ever feel like you're a Brightonian that you're from Brighton?

[00:01:28] No.

[00:01:28] Where are you from?

[00:01:30] I'm from Port Slade, which is kind of in Brighton.

[00:01:37] But I don't feel like I belong in Brighton.

[00:01:42] What do you think of the city when we say we're going for Brighton for the day?

[00:01:46] Or we're going to go and see something or see a show, get some food, hang out on the pier.

[00:01:53] What do you... what are the words that come into your head when you think of the city?

[00:01:56] Well, first of all, it's big. Sometimes it's overwhelming that it's so big.

[00:02:01] And it's quite dirty as well.

[00:02:06] Like if you're just walking down the streets, you look at the floor, there's like dirt everywhere.

[00:02:15] And it's gross, like cigars on the floor, things like that.

[00:02:20] What would you rather it felt like or looked like?

[00:02:24] Are there other places that you think look different that you don't want Brighton to look a bit more like?

[00:02:31] Well, I want it to look more like modern. Like a bit more like worthy.

[00:02:37] I guess because I'm used to worthy.

[00:02:40] But I want it to look a bit more modern and not dirty so everybody can just walk around

[00:02:48] and be like, ah, this is a nice city, a town.

[00:02:51] I wasn't expecting him to consider worthy to be more modern feeling.

[00:02:57] But perhaps that's just the place he associates with change and regeneration a bit more

[00:03:01] because he's seen worthy change a lot throughout his decade alive and living there.

[00:03:07] And probably a lot of his knowledge about Brighton has been picked up secondhand

[00:03:10] or even from the Brighton Paradox podcast.

[00:03:13] He likes me playing bits to him and he's often in the car when I'm checking draft cuts.

[00:03:18] It got me thinking about what Brighton must feel like to a young child as a sensory place,

[00:03:24] how it smells, how it sounds.

[00:03:27] A city still so very new and evolving to most adults but perhaps not so much to the pre-teens.

[00:03:34] And how often can and should cities like this regenerate, reset and be redefined by new age groups?

[00:03:48] I took my son to the Neolithic Cannibals exhibition.

[00:03:51] A small installation, part audio-visual experience, part museum, part social justice campaign

[00:03:58] in a new space curated by Lighthouse in the basement of New England House.

[00:04:04] The exhibition was co-developed by Curtis James who you met in the last episode

[00:04:08] and other artists, historians and ethnographers involved in the Class Divide project

[00:04:13] along with many young people from White Hawk.

[00:04:15] It was a thoughtful piece about the sound of hidden community.

[00:04:19] What have we just experienced?

[00:04:23] A video of how these kids in White Hawk made sounds that sound like the sounds in the olden times

[00:04:35] like the Iron Age for example.

[00:04:37] Well it's the sounds of the bozing made to excavate the Iron Age artefacts.

[00:04:43] What was it saying about being hidden or being ignored, being buried?

[00:04:47] Is sound a way that we can be found by making sounds?

[00:04:57] Yeah, maybe.

[00:05:15] I'm Richard Freeman and I'm considering the process of renewal in the Brighton Paradox.

[00:05:21] This is a podcast investigation from Always Possible and Lo-Fi Arts

[00:05:25] supported by Brighton & Hovalby and Football Club.

[00:05:27] It is created in partnership with EQ Investors, Midnight Communication

[00:05:31] and the University of Brighton's Help to Grow Management programme.

[00:05:36] Episode 3, renewal.

[00:05:40] If we're thinking about renewal then we have to start with the pain of decline.

[00:05:48] In series 1 of the Brighton Paradox we highlighted the scale of food poverty and homelessness.

[00:05:53] We explored some of the inbuilt inequalities,

[00:05:55] something deftly amplified by projects such as the Neolithic Cannibals exhibition in the festival.

[00:06:01] 2,200 businesses closed in Brighton last year, more than in the peak of the pandemic.

[00:06:07] His Bee, Wide Sassics and The Fusebox, Paradox Place and the Centre for Contemporary Arts closed.

[00:06:14] One of Brighton's biggest gifts to the world, the Body Shop, has collapsed into administration.

[00:06:20] Independent bars and clothes shops are struggling.

[00:06:23] The explosion of the vegan street food and burger places has peaked, with supply now outstripping demand.

[00:06:30] Yet, us fallible humans seemingly haven't yet figured out how to create amazing things

[00:06:35] without our hands being forced by a crisis.

[00:06:39] The human race uses genocide, extinction, recession, pandemic, famine and drought

[00:06:45] to be the reason to start again and do better.

[00:06:49] Maybe it's not so different in cities.

[00:06:52] We must remember that Brighton's renaissance, growth and cultural elevation in the late 90s

[00:06:56] followed decades of horror.

[00:06:58] It was just really hard hitting time and time again as we would be walking through the hills and hollows.

[00:07:04] People say we used to be proud of Brighton though and we want to be proud again.

[00:07:10] My 10 year old son may not feel the connection with Brighton that I do

[00:07:14] but he's also incapable of lying.

[00:07:16] His strength and weakness is that he wears his heart on his sleeve,

[00:07:19] he calls everything out as he sees it

[00:07:22] and it seems he's not the only one who thinks Brighton's physical appearance can and should only get better.

[00:07:29] Something Ty Goddard, who you met in the last episode

[00:07:32] heard repeatedly on the doorstep when he was running to become an elected counsellor.

[00:07:37] It feels shabby, it feels the weeds, the graffiti,

[00:07:42] the whole environment reeked and advertised, unloved, not loved.

[00:07:49] People are really proud of their gardens, their places in front of their houses

[00:07:53] but just generally the city centre and other areas,

[00:07:58] it just made them feel I think that we were past our best.

[00:08:01] One of the things that I found really interesting was when I was leading the city centre Task Force.

[00:08:09] October and November I just walked around the city centre with various people,

[00:08:15] sometimes there were shop owners, business owners, a couple of folks from the council.

[00:08:19] So just different people getting a different kind of sense of what they saw.

[00:08:23] You know, the old steam valley gardens, it just was just not good enough.

[00:08:29] You know, we spotted grots spots, we take a picture, we write a critique,

[00:08:34] it's pretty obvious really.

[00:08:36] And trying to get city clean to sort these things out and focus on the look and feel.

[00:08:41] I mean, you know, it was good overall, did about what, nine walkabouts?

[00:08:47] And that for me is where in many ways you restart.

[00:08:53] You begin to think differently about the city,

[00:08:55] you begin to think about, you know, the big clean.

[00:08:59] We've done some voluntary big cleans led by counsellors.

[00:09:02] This is really important.

[00:09:05] Someone else I've got to know as a result of this project

[00:09:07] and who's become a keen supporter and collaborator

[00:09:10] is the tech marketing guru Paul Doran.

[00:09:13] He's a big optimist and will explore his vision for the city later.

[00:09:18] But he was also clear to tell me that he wasn't sure

[00:09:21] Brighton and Hove's paralysis in economic strategy could get any worse.

[00:09:25] We're in an absolute mess, you know, at a local level, the national level

[00:09:30] it's a disgrace what we're having to live with.

[00:09:33] I think it's an impossible task.

[00:09:36] Economically there are still dark clouds on the horizon.

[00:09:40] I just don't see an easy way out if I'm really, really honest.

[00:09:44] I think anything that happens at a local level is at best a sideshow

[00:09:51] which is frustrating because it impacts the lives of people trying to do good things.

[00:09:57] I think it's got to start at a national level if I'm really honest with you.

[00:10:00] There's very little going to happen unless there is some significant change

[00:10:04] and I don't want this to become political.

[00:10:08] And Flo Powell, the PR aficionado for a midnight communication we heard in the last episode.

[00:10:13] One of the biggest evangelists for Brighton I've ever met.

[00:10:17] But when we sat down to chat for this series,

[00:10:20] she showed me a more melancholic side than I'd seen before.

[00:10:24] Our office, midnight's office used to be on Foundry Street in the heart of the North Lane

[00:10:30] which was a great location in terms of having all the shops on our doorstep at lunchtime

[00:10:34] but we were around the corner from a halfway house.

[00:10:37] So we were always coming up against fights and arguments

[00:10:41] and antisocial behaviour on our way to and from the office.

[00:10:46] During Covid we then moved to an office closer towards St Peter's Church

[00:10:51] and that was the noisiest office I've ever been in

[00:10:54] because we were on the main drag of all the sirens every day.

[00:10:57] It sounded like New Delhi most days, I imagine what New Delhi sounds like.

[00:11:02] And I used to regularly open the door at the back of the office on to people taking drugs

[00:11:08] and I didn't feel safe in that office and neither did my team.

[00:11:12] And we were right next to Chafalga Street and I'd walk back up to the car park every day

[00:11:17] and there was always people being arrested or people fighting

[00:11:20] or really open drug deals happening

[00:11:23] and that felt so much more in front of my face

[00:11:28] than I've ever experienced Brighton to be before

[00:11:31] as someone that's lived here since 1994.

[00:11:34] That felt very prevalent and loud if you like

[00:11:39] and that was difficult and I felt embarrassed by Brighton actually.

[00:11:45] Of course then we had the bin strikes and that was just disgusting

[00:11:50] and the apathy and the complacency of people during that as well

[00:11:55] where I felt like they just didn't care about the city anymore.

[00:11:58] We were walking down the road and someone had put an entire toilet

[00:12:01] next to one of the bins that was overflowing, it was gross.

[00:12:06] Grime and weeds and neglect is a symbol of something, of course

[00:12:10] and Brighton will always have the tightrope between grungy, cool and serious city

[00:12:15] Hove may be less so

[00:12:18] but the real pain that comes before renewal as I suggested just now

[00:12:22] is when admired and significant institutions fall.

[00:12:26] I'm Alex Morrison, I am respectively the founder of a digital agency called COGAP

[00:12:34] and for many years I've been involved in the digital sector down here in Brighton

[00:12:39] COGAP was one of the founding companies in that area

[00:12:42] and through that I became involved in an organisation called Wild Sossics

[00:12:47] that did 20 plus years of serving that community

[00:12:51] and has come to an end this year.

[00:12:54] For many the idea of Brighton's growing tech sector without Wild Sossics

[00:12:58] an umbrella member network, projects company, jobs board, incubation space and more

[00:13:03] was unthinkable

[00:13:05] but now with the network's sudden liquidation at the end of 2023

[00:13:09] it's very real.

[00:13:11] I wanted to know why and what happens next.

[00:13:14] The first thing to say is that Wild Sossics was going to have to change anyway

[00:13:18] we tried very, very hard to save it and we weren't able to

[00:13:22] but regardless of that it was going to have to change quite fundamentally anyway

[00:13:27] the reason I think being that when we took it independent from Sossics Enterprise in 2006

[00:13:34] it was very, very clear what the mandate was

[00:13:36] and it was to help founders in the city to start good businesses in the tech sector

[00:13:43] and grow them and turn them into healthy, prosperous, lovely things

[00:13:47] and we all cohort that I was part of

[00:13:51] we all had the same problems

[00:13:53] we were basically wandered into running businesses because we were good at tech

[00:13:56] in some way or another

[00:13:58] and suddenly we found ourselves running businesses and we thought

[00:14:00] what the hell, I don't know how to run a business

[00:14:01] I don't know how to recruit staff

[00:14:03] I don't know how to deal with office space and all of that

[00:14:06] and so we kind of formed a, you know, Wild Sossics essentially self-help group

[00:14:10] providing centralized services, aggregating the needs of that community

[00:14:14] and trying systematically to solve them and to connect people with each other

[00:14:20] I think now that many years on from that

[00:14:25] the problem is a different problem

[00:14:27] and the needs are different

[00:14:29] so I think there are lots of things in place now

[00:14:32] to help people with businesses that weren't there back in the day

[00:14:38] and lots of organizations that exist to help that

[00:14:43] lots of things are easier than they used to be

[00:14:45] so recruiting is a lot easier than it used to be

[00:14:47] office space is a lot easier than it used to be

[00:14:50] all those things have been systematically disrupted

[00:14:53] and working patterns are completely disrupted

[00:14:55] so again when we started

[00:14:57] it was all about recruiting local people to work in local jobs

[00:15:00] because everyone worked in the office

[00:15:02] which was until COVID that was absolutely the main working pattern

[00:15:09] but now that's just completely gone out the window

[00:15:12] for many organizations, not all, but for many organizations

[00:15:17] so Wild Sossics in terms of the community

[00:15:19] the community needs different things than it did before

[00:15:22] but Wild Sossics faced two ways

[00:15:24] it faced inwards towards its members

[00:15:26] but it faced outwards towards the rest of the community

[00:15:28] and the difficulty is that without Wild Sossics

[00:15:32] it becomes very, very difficult for things like the education sector

[00:15:35] or the social sector

[00:15:37] or the employment sector to speak to the tech community in Brighton

[00:15:45] and I think that's what we risk losing

[00:15:47] and what I'm interested in in particular

[00:15:50] is the social agenda around tech

[00:15:52] the gains of tech businesses

[00:15:57] accrue disproportionately to a small handful of people

[00:16:01] and accessing those jobs

[00:16:03] is very difficult for people from disadvantaged backgrounds

[00:16:09] I'm convinced, and I have some evidence for this

[00:16:11] that most people, most schools in the city

[00:16:15] have no idea that there is a thriving tech sector in the city that employs

[00:16:20] probably as many people as the hospitality sector

[00:16:22] and creates much, much better jobs

[00:16:25] that their students could be directed to kind of engage with

[00:16:28] how do kids, either at secondary school or at university

[00:16:33] find out about what the opportunities are and then engage

[00:16:37] it's a really difficult problem

[00:16:40] we struggled with it at Wild Sossics

[00:16:42] but it's not a problem that goes away

[00:16:44] so those kinds of things I think are fundamental

[00:16:48] the social inequality in Brighton is shocking

[00:16:52] all sectors need to play a part in addressing it

[00:16:54] the tech sector not least

[00:16:56] but without coordination it's very difficult to do that

[00:17:00] Alex was saying that there are clear concerns

[00:17:02] about some of the advocacy, communications and join up

[00:17:05] with Wild Sossics now gone

[00:17:08] for some of the less commercially motivated elements

[00:17:10] needed in a thriving tech sector

[00:17:12] such as tech for good movements

[00:17:14] and digital skills education and inclusion

[00:17:17] but what I heard also was that renewal was maybe needed

[00:17:20] and the Wild Sossics operating and funding model

[00:17:23] was just not sustainable

[00:17:25] renewal is about recognising necessary change

[00:17:28] however painful and messy that can be

[00:17:32] is this also happening in other sectors in the city?

[00:17:35] in series one we explored the topic of super fusion

[00:17:37] the Brighton born concept of technology

[00:17:40] and creative arts thinking jointly forming the backbone

[00:17:43] of the city's commercial growth and social innovation proposition

[00:17:47] but in order for super fusion to work

[00:17:49] there needs to be confidence and resilience

[00:17:52] in both sides of that coin

[00:17:55] my name is Suswana Amwa

[00:17:57] I am the interim co-director and curator at Onca

[00:18:01] which is a arts charity in Brighton

[00:18:05] that specifically focuses on social environmental justice issues

[00:18:10] I'm also a PhD student at Goldsmiths University

[00:18:14] exploring decolonial approaches to curatorial practice

[00:18:18] in contemporary art galleries

[00:18:20] and I'm also a member of the Black Curator's Collective

[00:18:24] I've known Suswana since I worked in youth arts development

[00:18:27] in north London over 15 years ago

[00:18:29] she was a teenager then still at school

[00:18:31] participating in creative storytelling and leadership programs

[00:18:35] that were being run on the South Kilburn Estate

[00:18:37] we've kept in touch over the years

[00:18:39] and she's always been deeply impressive

[00:18:41] in her ambition and focus

[00:18:44] Suswana is also known as the Black Galerina

[00:18:47] and has become one of the UK's leading voices

[00:18:49] on black perspectives and decolonisation

[00:18:51] in the UK visual arts world

[00:18:53] I was absolutely delighted when she moved to Brighton

[00:18:57] about eight years ago

[00:18:59] I wanted to know if she felt that the creative arts in Brighton

[00:19:02] especially the visual arts and design

[00:19:05] so core to the city's identity

[00:19:06] was thriving or declining right now

[00:19:11] it's definitely been a wild wind

[00:19:14] of a year for me personally living in Brighton

[00:19:19] cost and living crisis, housing issues

[00:19:23] having to move around

[00:19:25] like many people in Brighton

[00:19:28] I don't consider myself young anymore

[00:19:30] but I feel like a lot of us move every year

[00:19:32] and multiple times a year

[00:19:34] and trying to hold career

[00:19:38] has been really difficult

[00:19:41] part of the reason I left my job that I had at the beginning of the year

[00:19:45] is because I couldn't afford to

[00:19:49] be in that job and live in Brighton at the same time

[00:19:52] and a few years ago I could very comfortably

[00:19:55] but a lot has changed

[00:19:57] then re-entering the arts in Brighton

[00:20:02] realising that Brighton wasn't the same place

[00:20:04] it was three years ago when I worked in the gallery

[00:20:06] the art spaces aren't there anymore

[00:20:08] they're there, they're being repurposed for other things

[00:20:12] in order to survive

[00:20:14] education has also been hit with the CCA closing

[00:20:18] and the cuts at Brighton University

[00:20:20] while Brighton used to be known as a place where you

[00:20:24] went to learn about art and experience art

[00:20:26] and go to galleries

[00:20:27] it's just not that anymore

[00:20:29] and realising that people outside of Brighton

[00:20:33] aren't kind of aware of this

[00:20:35] so when I've been going to networking meetings

[00:20:37] because we joined CVAN which is the visual arts network

[00:20:42] people are outside of Brighton or further away

[00:20:45] are under pressure that Brighton is still that girl

[00:20:48] that girl that has like

[00:20:50] is like know for the festivals that have those galleries

[00:20:53] they have no idea what's happened to us

[00:20:55] and a lot of our smaller galleries

[00:20:58] even medium-sized galleries are quite aware

[00:21:01] that the approach of funding Brighton

[00:21:04] has meant like the bigger institutions

[00:21:07] have got all the funding while the rest of us

[00:21:09] or the visual arts ones especially haven't

[00:21:13] we're at a point where we're so

[00:21:16] trying hard to survive as institutions

[00:21:19] that we aren't able to like

[00:21:22] be the like the space that we want to be

[00:21:24] even the government's like

[00:21:27] public funding impression of Brighton

[00:21:29] doesn't see Brighton as a space that has

[00:21:32] communities that are underprivileged

[00:21:34] when you see that the priorities

[00:21:36] the government has given the priority areas

[00:21:39] they don't really focus on Brighton

[00:21:40] they don't recognise those communities

[00:21:43] I wondered if this was being felt

[00:21:45] across all of the cultural sub-sectors in the city

[00:21:48] or if it was a shift

[00:21:50] a zero sum game in a time of finite resources

[00:21:53] meaning that theatre or music or dance

[00:21:56] gets its moment in the spotlight

[00:21:58] when others have to scale back or fall away

[00:22:01] certainly other arts charities like

[00:22:03] Audioactive and Marlborough Productions

[00:22:04] seem to be more visible now

[00:22:06] that they were given national portfolio organisation status

[00:22:09] by the Arts Council

[00:22:10] which means they are seen as an organisation of cultural importance

[00:22:15] with guaranteed core funding for at least four years

[00:22:18] I can't really say it

[00:22:20] I probably think about this a lot

[00:22:23] like what is the agenda here

[00:22:24] do they think that Brighton is doing visual arts anymore

[00:22:27] and that's also not helped by

[00:22:30] what's happening in Brighton University

[00:22:32] because like you said it's been fantastic to see that Marlborough

[00:22:35] and others get that funding

[00:22:38] but the rest of us are really struggling

[00:22:40] at a visual arts point

[00:22:43] I think the only potential good thing about this

[00:22:46] is we are trying to look for radical ways

[00:22:49] of funding ourselves outside those avenues

[00:22:53] where we can

[00:22:54] which probably makes more sense

[00:22:58] and could build a really sustainable way of going forward

[00:23:02] because if we go back to relying on these

[00:23:06] parts of funding and we

[00:23:08] it's rescinded from us again

[00:23:10] I say us, on cause never had like

[00:23:12] MPOs status

[00:23:14] it brings us back to where a lot of us are now

[00:23:19] Okay

[00:23:21] so it's pretty bleak from what I can gather

[00:23:24] and of course this isn't just a Brighton thing

[00:23:27] the UK, maybe the world

[00:23:30] feels like it is at the end of a cycle

[00:23:33] and the decade of decline

[00:23:35] has just seeped into every corner

[00:23:39] but perhaps in cities like Brighton and Hove

[00:23:41] it is felt harder

[00:23:43] because as we've established before

[00:23:45] where its creativity and experimentalism

[00:23:47] is a huge strength

[00:23:49] the lack of scale, economic investment

[00:23:52] and things of permanence

[00:23:54] make it vulnerable at the best of times

[00:23:56] and on its knees in the worst

[00:24:00] I promise that this is as bad

[00:24:02] as it's going to get on this podcast series

[00:24:03] there will be hope

[00:24:06] but renewal is about recognising what's been lost

[00:24:08] and what needs to go in order to come back stronger

[00:24:12] you can take the view that Brighton's best days are behind it

[00:24:15] or you can be excited about what's to come

[00:24:17] and in making this podcast

[00:24:20] I'm definitely excited about what's to come

[00:24:23] I asked my team about what their perception of Brighton is at the moment

[00:24:30] and they came back with

[00:24:32] it's unaffordable, the parking's ridiculously expensive

[00:24:35] the rent is ridiculously expensive

[00:24:37] it's so overpriced, there's no trees

[00:24:41] it's more run down, it's dirtier, it's grittier

[00:24:43] there seems to be more people taking drugs openly on the street

[00:24:47] than we've ever witnessed

[00:24:49] there's constant construction

[00:24:50] so it always feels noisy and dirty

[00:24:53] more so than ever before

[00:24:54] and there's a real lack of leisure facilities

[00:24:57] for families as well

[00:24:59] so there was a lot of negativity

[00:25:01] and we spent an hour talking about it as a team

[00:25:03] and I went, guys that's really negative

[00:25:06] and they said, oh yeah but it's still

[00:25:07] I still wouldn't live anywhere else in the world

[00:25:09] I feel like it's not the best city in the world to live in

[00:25:12] it's so cool, it's fun, it's vibrant

[00:25:14] there's always something going on

[00:25:15] I love the culture, I love May when it's the great escape

[00:25:18] and Brighton Festival

[00:25:19] there's always something happening in Brighton, it's brilliant

[00:25:23] After a quick break we'll figure out how the energy that still believes

[00:25:26] this is an incredible place

[00:25:27] as Flo heard from her team

[00:25:29] might be the very thing getting the weeds and dirty streets cleaned up

[00:25:33] and we'll look at the renewal of new workspaces

[00:25:36] and the environment

[00:25:37] we'll look at the digital economy that might even thrive without wired Sussex

[00:25:41] and the creative industries and what might be bubbling

[00:25:43] and we'll look at how the renewal of a football team

[00:25:47] might actually be key to something much, much bigger

[00:25:57] Hello, producer Chris here

[00:25:59] just a quick moment to say a huge thanks to

[00:26:03] the Brighton Paradox headline sponsor

[00:26:05] Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club

[00:26:08] they've been a generous and thoughtful partner to this project

[00:26:11] from the beginning

[00:26:12] known for their community spirit and leadership

[00:26:15] as well as their evolving role

[00:26:16] as one of the most exciting squads in the English Premier League

[00:26:19] and women's Super League

[00:26:21] the club has significantly contributed to the greater Brighton economy

[00:26:25] injecting £600 million during the 2022-23 season

[00:26:30] To find out more about how they're investing in the city

[00:26:33] visit BrightonandHoveAlbion.com

[00:26:36] We're also supported for the first time by EQ Investors

[00:26:41] a financial advisory firm committed to sustainable and impact investing

[00:26:46] They help individuals, families and charities

[00:26:49] align their investments with their values

[00:26:51] ensuring financial growth and positive social impact work hand in hand

[00:26:55] With Hove being home to their only office outside of London

[00:26:59] they're a key part of Brighton & Hove's responsible growth

[00:27:03] over the coming decades

[00:27:04] Learn more about their services and their BCOR status at eqinvestors.co.uk

[00:27:12] Additionally, the University of Brighton's Help to Grow Management programme

[00:27:16] is empowering local businesses to unlock their full potential

[00:27:20] This 12-week business school management course

[00:27:23] offers leadership training, digital adoption, growth strategy and more

[00:27:28] supported by one-to-one mentoring

[00:27:31] and a network of local business peers

[00:27:33] and what's more, 90% of it is funded by government

[00:27:37] Spaces are limited so check out how to apply at Brighton.ac.uk

[00:27:42] searching for Help to Grow

[00:27:45] We couldn't make this series without their help

[00:27:49] or from other project supporters listed in the show notes

[00:27:52] This isn't always possible podcast

[00:28:05] but making podcasts is really only one way in which we help people

[00:28:09] drive forward economic development and social innovation

[00:28:11] We sus-expawn and bred but work across the UK and sometimes further

[00:28:15] to design and deliver big projects

[00:28:17] projects that promote social mobility, digital transformation

[00:28:21] and equality of opportunity in business, culture and education

[00:28:24] projects that tell the story of growth

[00:28:26] and creative thinking in cities, sectors and communities

[00:28:29] projects that enable emerging leaders as well as big brands

[00:28:32] to define, measure and communicate their impact

[00:28:35] We work with teams who know that their mission is a bit braver

[00:28:38] and a bit more ambitious than others

[00:28:40] If that sounds like you, then we need to meet

[00:28:43] Come say hello at alwayspossible.co.uk

[00:28:46] That's always possible.co.uk

[00:28:51] So my name is Gavin Stewart

[00:28:53] I am a business consultant but I do a number of things for the city

[00:28:57] One is to run the Brighton Economic Partnership

[00:29:01] which writes the economic strategy for the city with the local authority

[00:29:05] and another is to run the Business Improvement District

[00:29:08] Brilliant Brighton in Brighton City Centre

[00:29:10] This guy, Gavin, has to be part of the answer

[00:29:15] He is a golden thread back through to the beginnings of Brighton and Hovers City

[00:29:20] Simon Fanshawe's Crusade

[00:29:22] The last renaissance and the establishment of the Economic Partnership

[00:29:26] are something independent of the council

[00:29:28] but with a mandate to keep the city on the front foot

[00:29:32] Nationally some are talking about the 2024 election being a 1997 moment

[00:29:37] and whatever your politics, the idea of renewal was loud and forceful

[00:29:41] but is Brighton going to have its millennium moment again?

[00:29:45] When the economic future felt there for the taking

[00:29:48] I'm including here a couple of long clips from my chat with Gavin

[00:29:51] because I think they give a really useful context for all of this

[00:29:55] And also, there's always time for some gentle Glaswegian Brogue

[00:30:00] It was a really lovely experience listening to the Brighton paradox

[00:30:04] and particularly that very first episode

[00:30:08] where I think the very first person you interview is Simon Fanshawe

[00:30:12] And actually, he's one of the people that opened the door for me

[00:30:16] when I first came down here to the city

[00:30:18] So one of my very first jobs was to be the coordinator

[00:30:22] for the Economic Partnership

[00:30:24] So while Simon was running around the city

[00:30:26] trying to get business leaders from all different sectors in the city

[00:30:31] to join this brand new organisation that was going to be

[00:30:34] for the first time writing a natural economic strategy

[00:30:37] to the city that was going to get signed in from the wider community

[00:30:40] not just for council document

[00:30:42] I was there by his side trying to make sure all those meetings were happening

[00:30:46] trying to find those people to be talking to

[00:30:49] and doing all that kind of work around the edges of it

[00:30:51] So it was a really lovely full circle moment for me actually

[00:30:56] starting to listen to that Brighton paradox podcast

[00:30:59] because so much has happened over the last 23 years

[00:31:04] The city that I came to in 2000

[00:31:07] it's not unrecognisable but an awful lot of stuff has happened

[00:31:11] There's been a real change I feel

[00:31:14] or a change in the belief that the spirit of partnership

[00:31:17] can do good and can make changes

[00:31:19] when we were setting up the Economic Partnership back then

[00:31:22] It didn't feel like there were many partnership organisations in the city

[00:31:26] It felt like we were in a position where we were able to write the book

[00:31:30] on how to run a good partnership

[00:31:32] and what partnership actually meant for the city in a realistic way

[00:31:35] And people sit on the table saying

[00:31:38] this is what our economy looks like

[00:31:39] these are the issues that we need to be focusing on

[00:31:42] and this is how we can make it actively happen

[00:31:45] and we can make a change for good

[00:31:46] So we had businesses in the room there

[00:31:50] I'm talking about businesses in the broader sense

[00:31:53] that do actually mean the community sector as well

[00:31:56] that also mean the public sector within that as well

[00:32:00] to a degree and we found ourselves in a position where actually

[00:32:05] by opening up the conversation

[00:32:07] it struck us that actually everybody who was involved

[00:32:11] wanted to do stuff, they wanted to make change

[00:32:13] and they wanted to see things happening

[00:32:15] So I think what was really heartening

[00:32:19] about the Brighton Paradox podcast

[00:32:22] was that feeling is still clearly very much there

[00:32:26] and what really struck me was that

[00:32:29] yes, there was still that willingness

[00:32:31] where people drew up their sleeves

[00:32:32] there was still that willingness to work in partnership

[00:32:35] still people unfortunately talking about asylum

[00:32:38] but I think we can come on to that

[00:32:39] because I don't think that's necessarily a barrier

[00:32:43] I think we can look at that as something that we can work with

[00:32:45] but also a real understanding that people cover grasp

[00:32:50] of what makes Brighton and Hove tick

[00:32:52] because a lot of the work that I do

[00:32:53] particularly with the economic partnership

[00:32:55] I spend a lot of time looking at stats

[00:32:57] trying to get a handle on what makes our economy tick

[00:33:00] what are the cogs that make Brighton and Hove work

[00:33:03] and a lot of the presentations that I do

[00:33:05] if I go to business events or whatever

[00:33:07] do I get my PowerPoint slides out

[00:33:09] and I go through all my stats

[00:33:11] and explain to people what's going on in the city

[00:33:14] and a lot of the time people are quite like

[00:33:16] oh gosh that's really interesting

[00:33:17] I didn't understand, I didn't realise how that worked

[00:33:19] what I found really heartening about the

[00:33:21] the PowerPoint podcast series

[00:33:24] was that people know an awful lot more

[00:33:27] than they probably think they do about how the city works

[00:33:30] we're coming from a place of real strength now

[00:33:33] in terms of those business leaders that are in the city

[00:33:36] we don't need to do the introductory course now anymore

[00:33:40] on how Brighton and Hove takes

[00:33:43] actually we can move on to the postgraduate degree now

[00:33:47] and really start to knuckle down

[00:33:50] and start to work out what the answers to some of these problems

[00:33:53] because some of the problems as we all know are huge

[00:33:56] and seem on the face of it to be insurmountable

[00:33:58] but I feel that we're in a place now to be able to start tackling them

[00:34:01] as Gavin said, a big part of his role is in strategy

[00:34:05] and conversations

[00:34:07] and we've unpicked some of the city's frustration

[00:34:09] when it seems to be all planned and no action

[00:34:11] but as I mentioned in episode one

[00:34:13] drawing on the wisdom of Professor Chris Whitty's capability

[00:34:17] Trump's strategy philosophy

[00:34:19] what or rather who is going to be responsible for the doing

[00:34:24] the brilliant Brighton bid or business improvement district

[00:34:27] has been in place for quite a while now

[00:34:30] but in the next 18 months

[00:34:32] it has an opportunity to get significantly bigger

[00:34:35] with significantly more power

[00:34:37] why and what is it

[00:34:40] and why does this matter

[00:34:42] one of the things I'm most excited about

[00:34:45] over the coming years

[00:34:47] is the business improvement district

[00:34:49] and what we can do with brilliant Brighton

[00:34:51] or rather more importantly

[00:34:53] what the businesses can do with brilliant Brighton

[00:34:55] so at the moment

[00:34:57] we are a group of 517 businesses in the city centre

[00:35:01] and in 2026 which sounds like it's a long way away

[00:35:04] but we're going to be there before we know it

[00:35:07] we're in a position

[00:35:08] we will be in a position to have a huge piece of consultation

[00:35:12] with the businesses in the city centre

[00:35:13] to find out whether or not they want to continue on with the project

[00:35:17] so for those that are listening

[00:35:19] they don't know about brilliant Brighton

[00:35:21] we are the organisation that provides the Christmas lights

[00:35:23] in the city centre

[00:35:24] we dress the city with banners and bunting

[00:35:26] and iron baskets make it all attractive

[00:35:27] we've got an ambassador service that looks at security

[00:35:30] and works very closely with Sussex Police

[00:35:34] and the business crime production partnership

[00:35:36] and we do a whole load of stuff online

[00:35:38] in terms of promoting the city

[00:35:40] just flying the flag for how great Brighton is

[00:35:43] to come to visit

[00:35:44] at the moment

[00:35:46] we're in a relatively small area

[00:35:48] within the city centre

[00:35:49] so one of the most exciting things that come 2026

[00:35:51] is we're looking to increase the area

[00:35:54] that the current bid is situated in

[00:35:57] and when we do that

[00:35:59] what that also means is that more businesses can get involved

[00:36:02] which ultimately will be more money

[00:36:04] in the port to be able to deliver a bunch of projects

[00:36:07] within the city centre

[00:36:08] and we're looking at

[00:36:11] really galvanising the power

[00:36:14] and the energy within the business centre

[00:36:16] and the city centre

[00:36:17] so at the moment

[00:36:18] it's just hospitality retail leisure sector

[00:36:20] who are involved within the bid

[00:36:22] we will be looking to include

[00:36:25] professional services

[00:36:26] the offices above the shops

[00:36:27] essentially to be involved going forward

[00:36:30] and once we do that

[00:36:31] it can significantly increase

[00:36:33] the amount of investment that businesses can put in

[00:36:36] so there's some real philanthropy in this

[00:36:38] this is all about businesses

[00:36:40] wanting to make Brighton city centre a better place

[00:36:42] it's not about me wanting to get money out of businesses

[00:36:45] so we can run a bunch of projects

[00:36:46] the businesses themselves

[00:36:47] are the ones that decree

[00:36:49] what projects will be put in place

[00:36:51] we're really excited about moving forward

[00:36:54] with this project

[00:36:55] and doing an awful lot more

[00:36:56] that hopefully people that live

[00:36:58] and love the city will be able to see

[00:37:03] a whole range of activations

[00:37:06] activities, events

[00:37:07] to make your visits to the city centre

[00:37:09] more exciting

[00:37:10] we'll be able to do an awful lot more

[00:37:13] to support the city's street communities

[00:37:16] a lot of our work at the moment

[00:37:18] is engaging with the homeless

[00:37:21] and the street communities in the city

[00:37:22] and trying to direct people

[00:37:24] to the most appropriate support and help

[00:37:25] that's available for them

[00:37:26] at the moment we're stretched so thinly

[00:37:28] because we just don't have the resource

[00:37:30] to give that as much attention

[00:37:32] as we want to be able to do

[00:37:33] but we will be able to do that

[00:37:35] with additional funds

[00:37:36] the look and feel of the city

[00:37:38] can really be addressed

[00:37:39] so we would be able to have funding

[00:37:41] to have daily jet washers

[00:37:43] and pressure washers from the station

[00:37:45] all the way down to the seafront

[00:37:46] and all through the city centre

[00:37:48] we would be able to get rid of graffiti

[00:37:51] and we could look at planting

[00:37:52] we're going to be making greening up the place

[00:37:55] really all the stuff

[00:37:56] that all of us on a day-to-day basis

[00:37:58] as we're walking around the city

[00:37:59] kind of grumble about

[00:38:01] have a little bit of a mool about

[00:38:02] can absolutely be solved by

[00:38:05] us working more closely together

[00:38:07] with improved bid so I'm excited about that

[00:38:09] and to be clear it's not a tax

[00:38:12] it's more of a collective fund

[00:38:14] that people help to manage together

[00:38:16] the way that it works is that we would go

[00:38:19] to consult with all the businesses

[00:38:20] in the city centre

[00:38:21] essentially say to people

[00:38:22] hey everyone how much money would you be willing

[00:38:25] to put into the pot

[00:38:26] and what sort of projects do you want to see happening

[00:38:28] we then write up a business plan for that

[00:38:31] and actually you know what's this

[00:38:32] and we've got our website at the moment

[00:38:33] BrilliantWrites and you can check out

[00:38:35] their current business plan that we're delivering

[00:38:37] all the stuff that's in that business plan

[00:38:39] comes solely from the businesses

[00:38:40] it doesn't come from anybody else

[00:38:42] and then once that business plan is written

[00:38:44] we take it to a ballot

[00:38:46] that's done independently

[00:38:47] it was done by Estivica last time around

[00:38:49] and if that ballot goes through as a positive

[00:38:52] then essentially we become

[00:38:54] a private limited company

[00:38:56] and then we deliver that on behalf of the business community

[00:38:59] so it's something which we have been doing

[00:39:02] in the city since 2006

[00:39:05] at the last ballot

[00:39:07] what was it 80, 82.5% of the businesses

[00:39:09] that voted voted in favour of seeing it move forward

[00:39:12] so we're really kind of pleased

[00:39:16] that ultimately the business community

[00:39:18] are getting behind this

[00:39:19] what we're excited about mostly

[00:39:21] is seeing how many more businesses

[00:39:22] can see the benefit of their direct investment

[00:39:25] in the city because of course

[00:39:26] everyone pays their business rates

[00:39:28] but the way that it works

[00:39:29] is those business rates are collected

[00:39:30] by the local authority

[00:39:31] it all gets sent up to Whitehall

[00:39:32] They are attacked

[00:39:33] It is attacked and then it gets divvied

[00:39:35] back down to Brighton

[00:39:36] and none of that money gets spent

[00:39:38] on any of the stuff the businesses think

[00:39:39] it should be spent on

[00:39:40] I've just probably

[00:39:41] I'll probably get my wrists back

[00:39:43] saying this but it probably goes into

[00:39:44] the social care in the black hole

[00:39:46] really and nobody ever sees it again

[00:39:47] whereas something like a business improvement

[00:39:49] that's right, it's ring-fest

[00:39:50] and it's specifically for stuff

[00:39:52] that the community wants to see happening

[00:39:55] so we're very excited about

[00:39:56] how we can progress with that

[00:39:57] Maybe it's too good to be true

[00:39:59] but the expanded business improvement district

[00:40:02] sounds like a clear and fair way

[00:40:04] to transform the city centre

[00:40:05] without relying on a cash-strapped council

[00:40:08] or charity volunteers

[00:40:10] One thing that has changed

[00:40:11] in the past 12 months

[00:40:12] if you walk around Brighton City Centre

[00:40:14] is the blue and white stripes

[00:40:17] The albionisation has begun

[00:40:19] I am told by commentators

[00:40:21] with their tongues in their cheeks

[00:40:23] I asked the communications team

[00:40:25] at Brighton Home Albion Football Club

[00:40:27] if it was true

[00:40:29] that they were feeling more confident

[00:40:31] about painting the city

[00:40:32] in the seagulls colours

[00:40:34] and lighting up the Royal Pavilion

[00:40:35] on Europa League match days

[00:40:38] For the first time, they told me

[00:40:40] they're actually being asked to

[00:40:42] After many years

[00:40:43] in which the football club

[00:40:44] has existed on the fringes

[00:40:46] there's a definite feeling

[00:40:47] that the decades-long project

[00:40:49] that has seen the club

[00:40:50] get into the Premier League

[00:40:51] get in the top 10

[00:40:52] and then get to Europe

[00:40:54] is now being seen

[00:40:55] as part of the whole city's renewal

[00:40:58] In 2023, the club released a report

[00:41:01] and a YouTube video

[00:41:02] Last year alone

[00:41:03] the economic impact of us

[00:41:05] being in the Premier League

[00:41:06] and going as well as we did

[00:41:07] was around £600 million

[00:41:08] for the city

[00:41:09] and visitor numbers coming to the city

[00:41:11] people shopping, eating

[00:41:12] staying in the hotels

[00:41:14] and the job creation at the club

[00:41:16] has added significantly

[00:41:17] to the local economy as well

[00:41:18] so it's been a very significant boost

[00:41:20] to the city of Brighton and Hove

[00:41:22] In the 22-23 season

[00:41:24] the club has generated

[00:41:27] 327 nil in new direct income

[00:41:28] because of the club's activities

[00:41:31] plus 26 million being spent

[00:41:33] by visitors coming to Brighton

[00:41:35] 20 million spent by the club itself

[00:41:36] on local goods and services

[00:41:39] and 222 million of extra value

[00:41:41] for the city's global profile

[00:41:44] There were 600,000 attendances at games

[00:41:47] including 54,000 international visitors

[00:41:51] and this is before the club got to Europe

[00:41:55] We are a city, we're huge

[00:41:57] there's a massive population here

[00:41:59] great catchment area

[00:42:00] and to be playing Premier League football

[00:42:02] is obviously getting bumps on seats

[00:42:04] growing the brand of Brighton and Hove Albion

[00:42:06] and now European football as well

[00:42:08] it caps it all off

[00:42:09] and we're a club certainly going somewhere

[00:42:10] The stadium held 830 events

[00:42:13] that weren't football games

[00:42:14] attracting 48,000 people

[00:42:16] and an extra 3.5 million in revenue

[00:42:21] It's an amazing figure

[00:42:22] and this year with the Europa League

[00:42:24] it could be another 70-80 million

[00:42:26] on top of that as well

[00:42:27] so a lot of jobs created

[00:42:28] a lot of jobs sustained

[00:42:30] and a fantastic boost for the local economy

[00:42:32] Whenever you think about football

[00:42:35] that's not bad

[00:42:36] So what's the catch?

[00:42:39] Well let's consider the positives first

[00:42:41] It's phenomenal

[00:42:42] I think there's nothing better

[00:42:44] than the football club

[00:42:46] to be a driving force

[00:42:48] behind what brand Brighton stands for

[00:42:51] Here is businessman Paul Doreen again

[00:42:53] It's community driven

[00:42:55] it's about passion

[00:42:58] it's driven and managed

[00:43:00] to talk about leadership

[00:43:01] it's driven and managed brilliantly

[00:43:03] I have been lucky enough

[00:43:05] to have had a season ticket with my son

[00:43:07] for the last nine years

[00:43:09] and it's been a wonderful roller coaster

[00:43:10] and that's a microcosm of the club's journey

[00:43:13] I know there's a huge part that took place before 2014

[00:43:18] but a really good example of what's possible

[00:43:21] Dreaming big

[00:43:22] like the city I think needs to do the same

[00:43:25] If I look around the club now

[00:43:28] when I go

[00:43:29] you see the Japanese visitors

[00:43:33] coming to support the Tomah

[00:43:34] the internationalisation of the club

[00:43:36] the South American contingent

[00:43:38] it's phenomenal

[00:43:39] and this is from little old Brighton

[00:43:41] the clubs like Brighton

[00:43:44] I think was the term

[00:43:45] lots of the football pundits were used in the last two years

[00:43:48] clubs like Brighton don't appear in the top half

[00:43:51] clubs like Brighton do

[00:43:52] and clubs like Brighton are

[00:43:54] Well, a club like Brighton

[00:43:56] I'm not sure it's that parallel

[00:43:58] True, it's a unique part of the city

[00:44:04] Love or Lowe football

[00:44:06] and many people do Lowe football

[00:44:08] it's a really important outlet for a lot of people

[00:44:12] And here's Rosie McColl

[00:44:13] the headteacher from Brighton Girls School

[00:44:15] that you heard in the last episode

[00:44:18] When I first arrived

[00:44:19] literally two weeks into this job

[00:44:21] a parent said to me that she'd met Paul Barber

[00:44:23] who I know was interviewed on her previous podcast

[00:44:26] and said, oh, you need to speak to Paul Barber

[00:44:28] because he's talked about values

[00:44:31] and his company values

[00:44:32] and what an impact they've had

[00:44:34] and I was talking a lot about school values

[00:44:36] and trying to redefine and reaffirm the ones at my school

[00:44:39] So anyway, contacted Paul Barber

[00:44:43] and he very generously

[00:44:44] without ever meeting me in person

[00:44:47] he spoke to me on the phone for 40 minutes

[00:44:49] on his way up to a Sheffield match

[00:44:51] just telling me about his journey and his values

[00:44:54] so four years on

[00:44:56] we are now on the verge of

[00:44:58] a partnership with the Albion

[00:45:00] where we're going to be sharing our facilities

[00:45:01] and again it's going to be a city-wide

[00:45:03] girls only football club

[00:45:05] aimed at people who just want to get involved

[00:45:08] so they're not...

[00:45:09] the Albion have some brilliant pathways for girls

[00:45:12] already set up

[00:45:12] so we're not looking to change that

[00:45:14] we just wanted to share our facilities

[00:45:16] and actually there was a gap in the market there

[00:45:19] with what used to be the Saturday provision

[00:45:21] it's now we're bringing it during the weeks

[00:45:23] And here's Vicky Hughes from PR firm Fugu

[00:45:26] to whom I also introduced you in the last episode

[00:45:30] You know, I think

[00:45:32] Brighton-Hove Albion has had a big economic impact on the city

[00:45:35] it's had a big impact in terms of the influence

[00:45:37] and reputation of the city

[00:45:40] and I think that's all positives

[00:45:42] again, that was a controversial thought process at the time

[00:45:45] nobody, you know, can you build a big stadium

[00:45:48] where loads of football fans are going to go to

[00:45:50] in the beautiful Natural Park

[00:45:51] and I think it's a real success story

[00:45:54] The thing that's changing now as well is

[00:45:56] there's a couple of weeks ago

[00:45:57] the council have approved finding a site

[00:46:00] for a purpose-built stadium

[00:46:02] for women's football in Brighton-Hove

[00:46:03] at the moment the women's team is out in Crawley

[00:46:07] The women's football is a massively growing

[00:46:09] fantastic success story

[00:46:11] having two girls that have grown up

[00:46:13] and benefited from Brighton-Hove's

[00:46:15] Albion Community Programme

[00:46:17] I've got two football playing teenagers

[00:46:19] who have, you know

[00:46:21] I think it's been massively supportive for physical

[00:46:23] emotional

[00:46:25] mental health

[00:46:26] team working

[00:46:27] friends connections

[00:46:28] just making you, you know

[00:46:29] I didn't go through that myself

[00:46:31] but I think it's really good in terms of

[00:46:34] supporting your rounded human

[00:46:37] person

[00:46:37] you come out at the end of it

[00:46:39] So yeah, I think actually

[00:46:41] in terms of positive changes that you can see coming forward

[00:46:44] the fact that council are behind it

[00:46:46] the fact that Albion are so successful

[00:46:48] the fact that women's football and Brighton's women's team

[00:46:50] are growing and doing so well

[00:46:52] I think again that's another real positive

[00:46:55] when we can find a home for these

[00:46:57] great professional football players in our city

[00:47:00] as we have done for the men's team

[00:47:01] and look at how far they've gone

[00:47:03] and how well they're doing

[00:47:05] I think that's going to again have a really

[00:47:07] positive influence

[00:47:09] and it's going to circle back into the city

[00:47:11] so it's definitely one to watch and keep an eye on

[00:47:13] I'm quite excited about that

[00:47:15] I thought we could become

[00:47:17] a top club

[00:47:21] The club's owners

[00:47:22] and management have

[00:47:24] exceeded everyone's expectations

[00:47:25] they've exceeded mine, I mean I didn't ever think

[00:47:27] we would be a sort of

[00:47:29] top half of the premier club

[00:47:31] but I could see the potential for us

[00:47:33] to break into the premier league

[00:47:36] and benefit from it

[00:47:37] and you know

[00:47:39] the economic regeneration

[00:47:41] around the football club

[00:47:43] is a joy to behold because

[00:47:45] if captured properly for the future

[00:47:47] that legacy is going to be with us for a long, long time

[00:47:50] and it's got

[00:47:51] so many different directions

[00:47:53] and spin-offs it can go into

[00:47:55] it's a real bonus for us

[00:47:56] One of the big figures

[00:47:58] that dominated the public discourse about Brighton

[00:48:01] when I was growing up here in the 90s

[00:48:03] was Steve Bassum

[00:48:04] leader of Brighton, then Brighton and Hove Council

[00:48:06] for 12 years between 1987

[00:48:09] and 1999

[00:48:11] he was a driver

[00:48:12] of the city's renaissance, getting city status

[00:48:14] and securing the football stadium

[00:48:16] now Baron Bassum of Brighton

[00:48:19] he's been in the House of Lords for over 25 years

[00:48:21] quite something for a former anarchist

[00:48:24] and founder of the Squatters Union

[00:48:26] I went to visit Lord Bassum

[00:48:28] who kindly lets me call him Steve

[00:48:30] at his intriguing cottage

[00:48:31] right in the middle of Whitehawk

[00:48:34] and there's no real reason why it shouldn't become

[00:48:36] you know the sort of luff bro of the south

[00:48:39] Lord Steve told me about

[00:48:40] his vision for Brighton and Hove

[00:48:42] as a global leader in sports innovation

[00:48:45] where the football club

[00:48:46] is a stimulus for research

[00:48:48] business innovation and investment

[00:48:50] as well as the cricket club

[00:48:51] the new open water swimming centre

[00:48:53] and the city's historical associations

[00:48:55] with running, cycling, water sports

[00:48:57] you know I've had discussions lately

[00:48:59] with the University of Brighton

[00:49:01] and the football club and others

[00:49:03] and I can see that's a development

[00:49:05] that we can take to a new level

[00:49:07] and seek some new investment in

[00:49:09] and that's what a partnership

[00:49:11] partnership is the key

[00:49:13] between the private and public sector

[00:49:15] one enabling the other

[00:49:17] I think Brighton's got

[00:49:19] a great future potentially

[00:49:22] for Steve there is a synergy

[00:49:23] between sport and culture

[00:49:25] and the city's renewal

[00:49:27] can put sport on an economic pedestal

[00:49:29] in a way it never has before

[00:49:31] but it does need to pay attention

[00:49:33] to its cultural assets too

[00:49:34] that have possibly been neglected

[00:49:37] I'd like to see the festival grow some more

[00:49:39] I'd like to see us

[00:49:41] invest in that

[00:49:43] I mean it's got a good all year grounding

[00:49:45] it's got great venues

[00:49:48] you know you want to see the

[00:49:50] the hippodrome retained

[00:49:51] and developers of venue

[00:49:52] and one or two others as well

[00:49:54] we mustn't lose our small venues

[00:49:56] because they are the sort of

[00:49:58] catalyst for growth

[00:50:00] so there's a lot of opportunities there

[00:50:02] make the right decisions

[00:50:03] you can capitalise on those

[00:50:05] and it will become more of what it is

[00:50:08] but better

[00:50:08] but of course Lord Steve Bassam

[00:50:11] is enjoying the I told you so moments

[00:50:13] about the football club

[00:50:15] he staked his political reputation on it

[00:50:17] many years ago

[00:50:18] persuading many of the city's doubters

[00:50:20] that it would be a success in the long run

[00:50:23] but what about the current council leadership

[00:50:26] does Bella Sankey

[00:50:27] now filling Steve Bassam's shoes many years later

[00:50:29] acknowledge the impact

[00:50:31] of the football club on Brighton's recalibration

[00:50:33] as a city on the up

[00:50:35] I think there is no ceiling

[00:50:37] to be honest to the club's potential

[00:50:39] I was just a few weeks ago at the launch

[00:50:41] the relaunch of the economic impact

[00:50:43] report and I hadn't appreciated

[00:50:45] that when there was talk

[00:50:47] of the stadium first being built

[00:50:49] I think the projections for the

[00:50:51] economic impact were 23

[00:50:53] or 26 million pounds

[00:50:55] and we're now in a place

[00:50:57] where in 22, 23

[00:50:59] the club has contributed over

[00:51:01] 600 million pounds to our local

[00:51:04] economy I mean it is

[00:51:05] absolutely phenomenal

[00:51:07] and they keep just getting better

[00:51:09] and better we are very keen

[00:51:11] as a new administration

[00:51:13] to properly celebrate

[00:51:15] and acknowledge what the club is doing

[00:51:18] the culture and ethos of the club

[00:51:19] which I think is very much the

[00:51:21] culture and ethos of this city

[00:51:23] I love the fact that

[00:51:25] as well as you know

[00:51:27] having fans like you say in the city

[00:51:29] and across the world I think the club is for a lot of people

[00:51:31] their second club

[00:51:33] because of the way that we play

[00:51:34] because of the way that we do things

[00:51:36] the way as you say that we're

[00:51:37] owned by a fan and not an oligarch

[00:51:41] so

[00:51:42] yeah so

[00:51:44] I think the sky is the limit

[00:51:46] we have also been very

[00:51:48] clear that we want to bring the women's

[00:51:50] football team back to Brighton and Hove

[00:51:52] we would love to see a purpose built

[00:51:54] stadium and to me this

[00:51:56] is an important part of our sort of fair

[00:51:58] and inclusive

[00:52:00] agenda because there have been

[00:52:02] so many barriers to women's football

[00:52:04] in the country

[00:52:06] and across the world

[00:52:07] and we're still so far from

[00:52:10] parity right in terms of

[00:52:12] investment and all of the things

[00:52:13] that you need to create the conditions for excellence

[00:52:15] to thrive

[00:52:17] that said the lionesses have been doing us so

[00:52:19] proud and I think have really caught

[00:52:21] a kind of zeitgeist

[00:52:23] so working to build on that

[00:52:24] we would love the women's team to be more

[00:52:27] accessible particularly to girls in the city

[00:52:30] and to do something that we don't think

[00:52:32] has been done right and so

[00:52:34] you know of course Brighton should

[00:52:35] take that on and to try

[00:52:37] and deliver it

[00:52:39] okay well that's clear

[00:52:41] the city leadership and the football club

[00:52:43] are aligned

[00:52:45] possibly for the first time in a very long time

[00:52:47] but it's easy to support a football club when they're having success right

[00:52:50] and also

[00:52:51] to be blunt there's an unfathomable

[00:52:53] amount of money in Premier League football

[00:52:55] of course there is

[00:52:56] so if you're doing alright

[00:52:57] then the TV deals

[00:52:59] the international profile and the sponsorship

[00:53:02] are an awful lot easier

[00:53:04] but what about the city's other

[00:53:06] economic success stories

[00:53:07] that just don't have that same infrastructure

[00:53:10] around it

[00:53:11] I asked Bella how do we build

[00:53:14] a culture that celebrates excellence

[00:53:16] in all walks of business

[00:53:17] culture community

[00:53:19] that has pride in Brighton's genuine standout stories

[00:53:22] of innovation

[00:53:23] and genius

[00:53:25] because I heard repeatedly

[00:53:26] in my interviews for series one of this podcast

[00:53:29] that Brighton has its narratives

[00:53:31] of being a bit special

[00:53:33] but it doesn't always get behind

[00:53:34] its actual successful people

[00:53:36] and businesses

[00:53:38] the one thing that unites people

[00:53:40] that live in Rothstein Dean

[00:53:42] right out to the east

[00:53:44] and Northport Slade

[00:53:46] at our western edge

[00:53:48] is when I go and knock on doors

[00:53:50] seeing the seagulls flag

[00:53:52] flying in the garden

[00:53:54] so I think that we're a city

[00:53:55] that is very proud of our club

[00:53:58] and I truly believe

[00:54:00] that the fans

[00:54:02] saved the club from

[00:54:03] extinction and I think that is incredible

[00:54:06] and must never be forgotten

[00:54:08] I think it's probably fair to say

[00:54:11] that over the years

[00:54:12] of no overall control

[00:54:13] that relationship between the club

[00:54:15] and the council isn't where it should have been

[00:54:18] but that is something that we're now

[00:54:20] trying to

[00:54:23] reignite

[00:54:23] and you've mentioned the organisation of the city

[00:54:26] we really wanted to signal how proud we were

[00:54:28] of the team's success

[00:54:30] in getting into the Europa League

[00:54:32] and we have more plans

[00:54:34] to collaborate and work with the club

[00:54:36] but I'm also really clear

[00:54:37] that we want to celebrate success

[00:54:40] everywhere in the city, in all sectors

[00:54:42] and we want to join up

[00:54:44] and facilitate as much as we can

[00:54:46] notwithstanding obvious financial constraints

[00:54:48] to identify

[00:54:50] who is innovating

[00:54:52] who's having success, who's struggling

[00:54:54] and who we might be able to

[00:54:56] provide some

[00:54:58] support to, signposting to

[00:55:01] I'm very keen that we lean in

[00:55:03] and engage with residents

[00:55:05] and businesses

[00:55:06] and really make sure that we're

[00:55:08] feeling the heartbeat of the city

[00:55:10] reading the temperature

[00:55:11] and responding as we should

[00:55:13] so this is a message I suppose

[00:55:14] for residents and businesses

[00:55:16] be in touch with your

[00:55:18] administration, with your city council

[00:55:20] we want to be as joined up

[00:55:23] as we possibly can

[00:55:24] So what are some of those sectors

[00:55:26] that are renewing, rebuilding

[00:55:28] breaking through perhaps

[00:55:29] without the same narratives and resources?

[00:55:33] In the next episode

[00:55:34] I'm going to be looking at growth

[00:55:36] and what that means

[00:55:38] economically and in the city's confidence

[00:55:40] in itself

[00:55:42] We spent much of the first series

[00:55:44] considering new capital investment

[00:55:45] and some of the fast growing businesses

[00:55:47] the art and science of super fusion

[00:55:49] and the opportunities and challenges

[00:55:51] with scaling businesses

[00:55:53] but what kind of growth

[00:55:55] is Brighton chasing right now

[00:55:57] in 2024?

[00:55:59] We'll look at green growth, tech

[00:56:01] culture and real estate

[00:56:02] and whether this period after the pandemic

[00:56:05] has made it easier or harder

[00:56:07] in the city

[00:56:08] but still on football for one moment

[00:56:11] of course

[00:56:12] with such stark and rapid renewal

[00:56:14] in just one part of the city

[00:56:17] you will get some anxiety

[00:56:18] and some doubt

[00:56:21] The Albion are partners in this podcast

[00:56:23] but that's not why I keep focusing on them

[00:56:25] I keep focusing on them

[00:56:26] because I think they are a microcosm

[00:56:28] to use Paul Doran's word

[00:56:30] of everything that is happening

[00:56:31] in Brighton and Hove right now

[00:56:33] Has pros and cons having a Premier League side football team

[00:56:36] in your city

[00:56:38] Here's Paul and Flo Powell

[00:56:40] not down on the club's success

[00:56:42] but pragmatic about the risks

[00:56:45] and impact that rapid change like this

[00:56:47] can have

[00:56:49] I'm not a football pundit

[00:56:51] and I'm certainly not telling the club

[00:56:52] how to run itself

[00:56:54] but it's clearly playing

[00:56:56] an important role

[00:56:58] in putting Brighton

[00:57:00] and Brown Brighton on the map

[00:57:01] I think my biggest fear

[00:57:03] with the football club

[00:57:05] is that it becomes like one of the top six football clubs

[00:57:08] that would be my worst fear

[00:57:09] that suddenly

[00:57:11] it forgets its roots

[00:57:12] it's no longer community anchored

[00:57:15] which it very much currently is

[00:57:17] I think that would be my ask

[00:57:19] but it continues to invest and support

[00:57:21] the city and the community

[00:57:24] underserved parts

[00:57:25] of the community and the city

[00:57:26] as well as it is to continue doing that

[00:57:29] I think that's the answer

[00:57:30] the shiny

[00:57:32] gloss of the million dollars

[00:57:34] and the budgets

[00:57:36] that football sees

[00:57:39] are big

[00:57:40] shiny lights and I think my fear is

[00:57:42] that it would become one of the faceless

[00:57:44] top four, top six football clubs

[00:57:47] that no one really loves

[00:57:49] with their heart

[00:57:50] Football has traditionally been a

[00:57:52] working class

[00:57:54] grass roots sport

[00:57:56] it is not necessarily that anymore

[00:57:58] because tickets to football games are very expensive

[00:58:01] but there is still

[00:58:03] on the con side of the pros and cons list

[00:58:05] the

[00:58:06] nasty side of football

[00:58:08] which is difficult to manage and control

[00:58:11] and if Brighton are playing

[00:58:13] for example Crystal Palace

[00:58:14] that they have a long standing

[00:58:16] issues with

[00:58:18] I won't go anywhere near Brighton town centre city centre

[00:58:21] because I don't feel safe

[00:58:22] having experienced it

[00:58:24] by accident once

[00:58:26] when I didn't realise

[00:58:28] Brighton were playing Crystal Palace

[00:58:29] and I happened to be walking up Queens Road

[00:58:31] after work

[00:58:32] with a huge police presence

[00:58:35] and huge amounts of football fans

[00:58:37] it felt very tense and very uncomfortable

[00:58:40] and I think that's the biggest con

[00:58:42] on the pros and cons list

[00:58:43] is when there are clashes

[00:58:44] with teams where the

[00:58:47] arguments and violence is expected

[00:58:49] you can feel and almost

[00:58:51] taste that tension in the air

[00:58:53] and that doesn't sit well with me

[00:58:55] I've always been a football fan

[00:58:57] I've been a football fan since I was a kid

[00:58:58] my first team is Liverpool

[00:59:00] sorry Brighton but I am very very proud

[00:59:03] of Brighton and Hove, Albion's

[00:59:05] success as I think

[00:59:07] everybody who lives in Brighton and Hove

[00:59:09] is and the pro side is that pride

[00:59:11] in our city, in our team

[00:59:13] it is putting our city on the international map

[00:59:15] bringing in inward investment

[00:59:17] and tourism

[00:59:18] and that should be something we should be really proud of

[00:59:21] and I know that the footballers are buying up

[00:59:23] the

[00:59:25] expensive new build apartments in the city as well

[00:59:27] so

[00:59:28] the investment in the city is happening

[00:59:30] and it does have a ripple effect

[00:59:32] across the city and I think

[00:59:35] overall it's a really good thing

[00:59:37] that we should feel pride for

[00:59:39] and we should be flying our blue

[00:59:41] and white flags

[00:59:43] as high as we can

[00:59:44] we just need to

[00:59:47] manage and control

[00:59:48] the con side of football

[00:59:50] which is difficult

[00:59:51] but Liverpool and Manchester have the same problem

[00:59:54] as does every big city with the Premier League side

[01:00:01] next time

[01:00:02] on the Brighton Paradox

[01:00:05] I want to make sure

[01:00:06] that we're bringing the best of Brighton

[01:00:08] to other parts of the UK

[01:00:09] and the best of the other parts of the UK to Brighton

[01:00:12] and I think that I can play a role in doing that

[01:00:14] so with our opening in Farringdon

[01:00:16] it's about making sure

[01:00:18] that we are creating a space

[01:00:19] that really feels

[01:00:22] inclusive

[01:00:23] and warm

[01:00:25] and welcoming

[01:00:27] but it's also about ensuring that in Brighton

[01:00:30] we're connecting our businesses

[01:00:32] with people all around the world

[01:00:35] that can help them grow

[01:00:36] whilst nurturing them

[01:00:38] in the way that they expect from us as well

[01:00:40] you know, growth isn't everything

[01:00:42] it doesn't necessarily need to be financial growth

[01:00:45] it can be team development

[01:00:46] or partnership

[01:00:48] they're able to establish

[01:00:49] but we want to make sure that our projects

[01:00:51] are enabling our companies

[01:00:54] and local community

[01:00:55] to develop in the ways that they want to

[01:00:58] Yeah, I mean

[01:00:59] if you build a

[01:01:01] university, if you build a major teaching hospital

[01:01:03] you create a supply chain for all of those things

[01:01:06] and you create a different set

[01:01:07] of professional expectations

[01:01:08] which has spin-offs in terms of

[01:01:12] growth

[01:01:13] in the local economy

[01:01:14] so those things shouldn't be a great surprise

[01:01:17] you've just got to capture and harness them

[01:01:19] and try and channel them somewhere

[01:01:20] In terms of

[01:01:22] innovation

[01:01:23] and risk

[01:01:25] and having a huge audience of stimulation

[01:01:28] seekers in this city

[01:01:29] and it was spoken about many times

[01:01:31] in the series previously

[01:01:34] but having

[01:01:35] a city

[01:01:39] that welcomes this kind of

[01:01:41] risk taking

[01:01:42] an innovative thought

[01:01:45] and

[01:01:45] trying something out for the first time

[01:01:48] is fantastic

[01:01:49] for the pipeline, for the growth

[01:01:52] it feels like the right space to do it

[01:01:55] that we shouldn't be fighting

[01:01:58] growth

[01:01:59] and making money

[01:02:01] we need to attract

[01:02:02] more money into the city

[01:02:04] we're at a disadvantage

[01:02:07] because we're in the south-east

[01:02:09] that's not necessarily where

[01:02:11] a lot of the government

[01:02:12] levelling up money is going

[01:02:15] so we need to find ways of attracting

[01:02:17] investment

[01:02:19] into the initiatives that we want in the city

[01:02:22] there's a big shift at the moment

[01:02:24] in my space, in the tech space

[01:02:27] for nomadic existence

[01:02:29] as long as you've got all that stuff

[01:02:30] you've got connectivity, you can work anywhere

[01:02:33] there's a huge thriving growth in Lisbon

[01:02:36] there's massive clusters

[01:02:38] appearing

[01:02:39] of tech entrepreneurs

[01:02:41] they want to live there

[01:02:43] there are some tax benefits

[01:02:45] what's the benefit of doing that

[01:02:49] in Brighton

[01:02:49] and how can leadership

[01:02:52] create that

[01:02:53] how can we create hubs that attract

[01:02:55] the best in fashion

[01:02:57] or arts or third sector or tech

[01:03:24] the series is generously supported

[01:03:26] by Brighton and Hove Albion Football Club

[01:03:28] our project partners are EQ investors

[01:03:30] the University of Brighton's

[01:03:32] Help to Grow Management program

[01:03:34] Midnight Communications and Illyriity

[01:03:36] original music by Fatboy Slim

[01:03:38] Noray and Chris Thawke Tracey

[01:03:41] special guest contributors in this episode

[01:03:43] were Paul Doran, Flo Powell

[01:03:45] Gavin Stewart, Linus Freeman

[01:03:47] Saswana Amour

[01:03:48] Alex Morrison, Rosie McColl

[01:03:50] Vicky Hughes, Lord Steve Bassin

[01:03:52] Councillor Bella Sankey

[01:03:54] and Councillor Tai Goddard

[01:03:55] thank you to all of them for their time and generosity

[01:03:59] please check out the show notes

[01:04:00] for links to guests, further reading

[01:04:01] and information on projects mentioned

[01:04:03] the Brighton Paradox was written and presented by me

[01:04:06] Richard Freeman

[01:04:07] production and editing was by Chris Thawke Tracey

[01:04:10] for Lofi Arts