Black Rock Brighton: Cabinet Approves Preferred Bidder for Temporary Seafront Use

Brighton and Hove City CouncilCouncil and DemocracyKemptownSeafrontBrighton News
Written By Tim Graichi Cucarella
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Brighton & Hove City Council’s Cabinet has approved a preferred bidder and a reserve bidder to run a temporary attraction on the empty Black Rock site on Brighton’s eastern seafront. The council’s published decision list shows all five recommendations in the report were approved at the meeting on 15 October.

The lease would be for a maximum of five years. It is not signed yet: the council says approval is subject to due diligence and agreeing acceptable terms. We reported on what the papers said before the meeting in our earlier article on the Black Rock decision.

5 of 5
recommendations approved
5 years
maximum lease length
23 Oct
when the decision takes effect unless called in
£18m
spent on enabling works, per the council

Source: Brighton & Hove City Council, Cabinet decision list, 15 October 2026

What Cabinet agreed

The vision
Endorsed the Black Rock Future Vision and approved the council’s phased approach to site activation and long-term regeneration.
Preferred bidder
Approved Bidder 1 as the preferred bidder for the temporary use, subject to satisfactory due diligence and acceptable commercial, legal and operational terms.
Reserve bidder
Approved Bidder 2 as the reserve bidder, in case satisfactory terms cannot be agreed with Bidder 1.
Who signs
Gave the Corporate Director, City Operations, authority to do the due diligence, agree heads of terms and sign the lease and related legal documents, in consultation with the relevant Cabinet Member.
Lease conditions
Agreed the conditions any lease should include (see below).

What Bidder 1 proposes

Aerial view of the Black Rock site with a marked-up layout showing padel courts, a fitness studio, a spa, patios, a bar and cafe, toilets and changing rooms
Site layout “Option 5, Maximise sea views” from the Cabinet papers. The report does not say which bid it belongs to (Image: Brighton & Hove City Council)

The council’s public report, published before the meeting, calls Bidder 1 the highest scoring of four bids. It describes a temporary active leisure, sport and wellbeing destination with padel, fitness, food and drink facilities and mental health programming.

The report says the proposal offers a fixed annual rent over five years and needs no council capital investment. It says officers see it as the strongest combination of deliverability, financial return and community benefit.

Bidder 2, the reserve, is described as a cultural, leisure and placemaking destination with a public beach hub, community facilities, food and drink and event space. The bidders are not named in the public papers.

What any lease must include

Length
A maximum term of five years.
Exit
Appropriate break and termination provisions.
Removal
Tenant infrastructure removed at the end of the lease.
Handback
The site returned in a condition substantially equivalent to before, at the operator’s expense, unless the council agrees otherwise.
Social value
Agreed social value commitments, with monitoring arrangements.

Questions councillors submitted

Two written questions on Black Rock were submitted by councillors for the meeting, according to the council papers. The papers do not include the answers.

Councillor Meadows
Asked what car parking provision at Black Rock is proposed so that disabled people can access any new amenities.
Councillor Strong
Said the report’s wording on reducing carbon and promoting sustainable travel only commits to “exploring” measures, and asked for assurances of a thorough process, including mode share targets so the site does not lead to more car use along Madeira Drive.

What we still do not know

The council’s public papers do not say who Bidder 1 or Bidder 2 are, how much rent is being offered, when work on the temporary use could start or when it could open, or whether planning permission has been applied for. The commercial detail is in a separate Part Two report that the council keeps exempt from publication.

The report also says it is unlikely any income will be received in 2026/27 because of the timing of any agreement.

What happens next

2022
December: the council agrees to produce a development brief for Black Rock and approves meanwhile uses and entertainment space.
5 June 2026
The council publishes its Seafront Prospectus, which names Black Rock as a key investment opportunity.
15 October 2026
Cabinet approves the preferred and reserve bidders.
23 October 2026
The decision takes effect at close of business unless it is called in.
Next
Due diligence, heads of terms and lease negotiation. The report says there will be further engagement with ward councillors, neighbouring communities including Whitehawk and East Brighton, and planning and licensing processes.

The council describes the temporary use as the first of two stages. The second is a long-term redevelopment it hopes will become a landmark coastal destination for culture, leisure and recreation, and it says the temporary use must not create an expectation of permanent occupation. More is under Black Rock, Kemptown and meanwhile use on ImJustBrighton.

Read more from ImJustBrighton

Brighton and Hove Council Cabinet to Choose Preferred Bidder for Black Rock Seafront Site on 15 October

Brighton Seafront Transformation: Council Unveils Vision for Iconic Coastline

Brighton Wheel Returns to Madeira Drive in 2027 After 10 Years Away

Tim Graichi Cucarella

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