🏡Banning second homes, no more NHS dentists, the trial of Billy Henham's alleged murder, and more🦷

Good morning! Welcome to the second weekly briefing from Seagull News. We're shortly going to be sending out an email to prospective contributors detailing what we're looking for and how they can get involved. If you want to be one of those people, fill in this form.

News this week:

1. The council is working to ban new flats and houses being sold as second homes and investment properties. A report from the council's Housing Committee found that more than 2,000 homes were registered as second homes, and more than 3,300 properties in the city are unregulated short-term holiday lets.
2. There is no more availability in Brighton and Hove for NHS patients at dentist's surgeries, according to Labour councillor Amanda Grimshaw. She raised the issue after she was unable to find any practices taking on new NHS patients, an issue highlighted by Healthwatch Brighton and Hove during the pandemic.
3. A grieving father is set to open an exhibition expressing his grief for his son. Paul Harris will be working with artists SinnaOne, Mazcan and Ron VanGauls to launch the El Presto Project, which will include a mural on Little Western Road, an exhibition at Gallery Lock In in Little Western Road, and workshops. Money from workshops, prints and art sales going to Harris' legal fees following arrests after he was taken to court over graffiti tributes to his son. The exhibition will run from Thursday, February 17, and will be open 5pm-8pm on Thursdays and Fridays, and 1pm-4pm on Saturdays and Sundays.

The Big One

Three suspects have appeared on trial accused of beating a man unconscious at a New Year's Eve party.

Who are they? Gregory Hawley, Dushane Meikle and Alize Spence, with Lamech Gordon-Carew. Meikle, Hawley and Spence all have previous convictions, including drug dealing, carrying blades, and drug possession.

What happened? William 'Billy' Henham, who was 24, is alleged to have been beaten in a 'significant and sustained' assault in a derelict building on North Street.

He was said to have been beaten unconscious, stripped and thrown nearly 11ft off a balcony, suffering 11 rib fractures, bruises on his scalp, neck and face and a brain injury. It is thought these are consistent with having been punched, kicked and stamped on. It is thought he died an hour after the attack, during which he sustained 60 separate injuries.

Where was he last seen? At 4.30am in All Sorts off-license in North Street, opposite the squat where the party was.

What's the latest? The suspects all deny the attack. Two deleted images of Billy's body were found on Meikle's phone, but he says the first he knew of the attack was when he came across Billy's body while walking around the building, which he described as 'horrible' and 'like a horror movie'.

What have Billy's family said? His father described the last night he saw Billy, in a statement read to Maidstone Crown Court:

I made sure he was aware the offer remained open and if he wanted to get home at any time, all he needed to do was contact us.

He was in a positive mood and said he just wanted to have a nice evening.

He was in good health, had eaten well over the holidays and had no injuries to his person.

We didn't hear from Bill after this, and this was the last time that we saw Bill alive.

The trial continues.

Finger On The Pulse

🎶Gigs: This week, Scottish indie rockers Glasvegas are at Chalk on Tuesday (tickets) and 21-year-old singer songwriter Lily Moore will be at the Green Door Store on Thursday (tickets).

🤣Comedy: Jack Dee's rescheduled show will be at the Brighton Dome on Saturday, bringing 'a ray of sunshine to brighten [people's] day'. Limited tickets are available here.

🎥Cinema: Duke of York's Picturehouse in Preston Road will be showing Parallel Mothers, an exploration of the relationship that forms between two very different mothers who give birth on the same day, starring Penelope Cruz and directed by Pedro Almodóvar. Tickets available for showings Monday-Thursday here.

🏛Exhibitions: Undercurrents, an exhibition on Brighton's starling murmurations, will be at Phoenix Art Space in Waterloo Place until Sunday, February 20. Find out more here.

Swoop in

If you have a story for Seagull, please get in touch with our editor at [email protected]

NIBS

1. Switchboard, the oldest LGBT+ charity in the city, has launched a fundraiser. They saw demand on services rise drastically from 2020 onwards, and they want to be able to meet the demand. Donations to the £5,000 crowdfunder will be met up to the value of £250, and there are rewards for supporting including badges, Switchboard's Trans Survivors Project zine, postcards, prints, custom portraits and more. Visit the fundraiser here to get involved.
2. The Urchin, a gastropub in Hove, has been named the best in Sussex by the Estrella Damm Top 50 Gastropubs, which highlights the best gastropubs in the country. (Despite the awards' name, it's at number 87).
3. A sinkhole has appeared in Steine Gardens following the Christmas market (though according to the council, the causes are most likely longer-running subterranean issues). The news seems to have spread as far as Albania, or at least its web scrapers, and online wags have already started a cult around it.

Where to eat?

1. Brunch: You can't beat Kenny's Rock and Soul Cafe in Kensington Gardens for sick views of North Laine, amazing breakfasts and good vibes.
2. Coffee: Down to Earth Coffee, also in Kensington Gardens, not only does delicious coffee, but offers a wide variety of vegan baked goods including cinnamon buns and doughnuts.
3. Dinner‌: ‌The No Catch Co on Kings Road, near the i360, does the best vegan fish and chips we've ever had. Highly recommend the vegan cod, chips and curry sauce. ‌

Book Recommendation

Our editor has been re-reading Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, mostly for the parts set in Brighton and all its Regency splendour. You probably don't need the inducement of local colour to pick up this classic but if you've not read it before it's definitely worth your time!

Next Time

That's all for this week—please subscribe if you enjoyed, and forward to friends who might be interested. Don't forget to fill in our contributors form if you'd like to get involved.

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