🌊Coastal conservation, bulging schools, a beloved bookshop closing and more📚

Hello and welcome to another weekly briefing! This week we're talking about cycling confidence, the Cowley Club, coastal conservation and schools increasing their intake (couldn't get that one to begin with C—if you think you could, consider signing up to contribute to Seagull here!) As always, please share this with anyone you think would be interested!

In The Brighton Seagull this week:

To celebrate National Seagrass Day, Lucy Frost explored seagrass' cousin, kelp, dense underwater forests home to thousands of fish, which once stretched from Brighton to Littlehampton, and the work being done by Sussex Kelp Restoration Project to boost kelp populations. Check it out here!

Council calls cyclists to consider confidence cycling courses

The council is encouraging cyclists to book adult cycle training courses to boost their confidence. A great way of getting back in the saddle, the council hopes it will encourage people to cycle more as it reveals 80 per cent of car journeys in the city are two miles or less.

Participants do not need to own a bike—they can use one of the Brighton Bikeshare bikes.

The courses cost up to £40, depending on the level. There are one-to-one courses, 'learn to ride' courses, and then beginner, intermediate and experienced courses.

Anyone interested should email [email protected], with priority given to those who are low income or on means-tested benefits.

Cowley Club calls for council campaigners

Following on from our reporting on the Cowley Club's roller-shutter-write-in campaign, the Cowley Club have released an update:

When [a] few weeks ago we submitted a revised application to the planning department about wanting to install roller shutters, the council told us that we had to submit the documents as a whole new application.

So we did and we are happy to announce that we have a NEW reference code: BH2022/00749.

Once again we are asking you to share this and send emails to planning.applications @brighton-hove.gov.uk with the reference code, explaining why we need the roller shutters and it would make a lot of difference in terms of accessibility and inclusiveness to the Club!

Coastal conservation for city to circumvent climate change impact

Work will start in the next few weeks to futureproof the city against coastal erosion and flooding.

The Brighton and Adur Coastal Protection Scheme will work to strengthen, raise and replace flood walls and defences, and install new timber groynes along King's Esplanade in Hove.

This will hopefully prevent the loss of residential and commercial properties, including Shoreham Power Station.

The city's main form of coastal protection from erosion and flooding is the beach, so the regular shingle recycling will continue.

Longshore drift means around 16,000 tonnes of shingle end up at Brighton Marina—enough to cover Brighton and Hove Albion's pitch six times over.

🖋 NIBS 🖋

• Places across the city have been showing solidarity with Ukraine in various ways. The i360 and Brighton Pavilion have been lit in blue and yellow. The Crown and Anchor Inn in Preston Road has banned Russian made products and produce. St Nicholas Church in Church Street marked Ash Wednesday with a peace vigil, praying for peace all day.
• The Archbishop of Canterbury met a group of refugees on Saturday 5th March. He spent time at All Saints Hove, where he saw a tapestry project made by refugee women, met representatives of the Network of International Women, and met council leader Phélim Mac Cafferty.
• Kemptown Bookshop in St George's Road is set to close after a 'for sale' sign was spotted outside. Established 50 years ago, the bookshop has won various awards over the years including 'Third Best Shop in the UK' (Parliamentary Best Small Shops Competition), 'Best Bookshop of the Year, London and the South' (Publishing News and the Bookseller's Association), and 'One of Brighton and Hove's Top Ten Shops' (Independent on Sunday).

This edition of The Seagull is sponsored by Cybersyn, a friendly digital analytics consultancy based right here in Brighton.

What's happening? Two secondary schools in Brighton will be taking on extra students, in order to prevent children having to travel far to get to school.

Which schools? Varndean and Dorothy Stringer will be taking on an extra 19 and 10 children respectively.

When is this happening? In 2021, 63 children living in the school's catchment areas were not given places from the lottery application at either school, despite campaigns from parents.

What? Lottery application? Brighton and Hove is one of a limited number of places in the country with a lottery system for applicants, which was started in 2008. This was intended to prevent parents being able to get their children into popular schools by moving nearer to them.

How many children got into their preferred schools last year? Of those applying, 165 did not get any of their preferred school choices, and 80.69 per cent got their first preference due to an increase in applicants.

How many places are available for this year? The schools will have 310 and 349 places available respectively.

🎵Music: OHMNS, "kraut-infused garage punk", "explosive, raucous and at times completely unhinged"‌‌‌‌‌‌‌, gosh; Friday 11th March at the Hope and Ruin, tickets here.

🎥Cinema: Ali and Ava, sounds sweet and Ken Loach-y; tickets here.

😂Comedy: ‌Hannah Gadbsy, you know, the one who did Nanette; Thursday 10th and Friday 11th March at the Brighton Dome, tickets here.

🚩Political: earnestness corner: if you want to be a councillor, the council is running some events about what that entails, it's an Actually Very Important role and we're sure the flock is full of conscientious sorts who'd be good at it, so; Monday 7th and Tuesday 8th March, sign up here.

Swoop in

If you have a story for Seagull, please get in touch with our editor at [email protected]. And if you want to contribute:‌‌

☕️ Where to eat? 🥪

Coffee: Flint Owl Bakery in Bond Street is so new they haven't even updated their own website to mention it. An new outpost of the Lewes mothership (a former lunchtime favourite of our technical director when he worked nearby), expect lovely breads, exceptional baked goods and delicious (if somewhat pricey) coffee.

Dinner‌: Botanique on Western Road, the all-vegan spinoff of perennial Lanes favourite Food For Friends, the rustic decor and inventive treatment of vegetables might be expensive but is unqustionably one of the best dining experiences in the city right now.

Pint: ‌The Fiddler's Elbow on Boyce's Street has (our Irish editor insists) the best pint of Guiness in the city, delicious and (for the first time in this week's recommendations) very reasonably priced pie-and-mash from Piecaramba, and fortnightly Irish folk music (including tonight!), where you can often find the Seagull editorial team.

🔜 Next Time 🔜

That's all for this week—don't forget to fill in our contributors form if you'd like to get involved, forward to friends who might be interested and if you've been forwarded this and enjoyed it (or are reading on the website), please subscribe: