A multi-million pound project to transform Brighton’s Royal Pavilion Garden to its “original Regency glory” has secured funding.
Brighton & Hove City Council and Brighton & Hove Museums have received a National Lottery Heritage Fund grant of £4.4m for the restoration project which is also hoped to improve facilities for residents.
Plans include the restoration of the Regency planting design, using the original planting plans designed for George IV. Also planned are new visitor and community facilities, the reinstallation of historic fencing, and improved irrigation and drainage.
Brighton & Hove City Council, which is also providing capital funding, said the project will also increase community engagement to the garden, focused on a range of communities neighbouring the estate, and will develop new community partners to engage people with health issues to visit.
It said four priority audiences – people with disabilities, families and adults on low incomes, young people, and people with mental ill health issues – will be considered when designing engagement with visitors.
The project is the second phase of a wider plan developed by the council to enhance the Royal Pavilion Estate, and follows the refurbishment of the Grade I listed Corn Exchange and Grade II listed Studio Theatre last year 2023.
Councillor Alan Robins, chair of the Culture, Heritage, Sports, Tourism and Economic Development Committee and trustee at the Royal Pavilion & Museums said The Royal Pavilion Estate “is of huge international heritage significance, a key contributor to the visitor economy as well as an important green space and haven for nature enjoyed year-round by residents.”
CEO of Brighton & Hove Museums Hedley Swain said the project “will transform the garden, restore it to its full beauty and remain a haven of beauty and heritage in the middle of the city.”
