Brighton: Naked Gallery owner angry at On The Beach festival

Before 10,000 revellers kicked off the On The Beach festival with drum and bass duo Chase and Status headlining on Friday, festival organisers took measures to ensure the perimeter was as secure as possible.

A passerby walking along Madeira Drive near the festival (Image: Andrew Gardner / The Argus)

But Laura Messenger, who owns Naked Gallery in Madeira Drive, Brighton, said it is "unnecessary" and has called on organisers to tear it down as it will drive away customers.

Laura said: "Normally when events happen on the road, we are told. And it's great since pedestrians are walking up and down it checking out the art.

"But with this, I just came in one day and the wall was up."

The view from her gallery (Image: Andrew Gardner / The Argus)

She even bought in extra artwork in preparation for the event, which she thought the festival crowds would be interested in. This is her first summer in the shop.

"It all seems a bit pointless because the hoarding has ruined any chance of even a normal business, let alone extra business," said Laura.

"I've been thinking, is it even worth being open? When the events aren't going on during the week, the hoarding is still going to be up and people coming down to the city on holiday will be turned away by it."

The wall outside Laura's shop backs onto the beach - so she says there is no need for it to be installed (Image: Andrew Gardner / The Argus)

Her gallery is at the end of the parade of shops at the start of Madeira Drive, joined by two other art galleries. The homely venue has chairs outside and sunshades - as she says looking at art is an "experience" and more than just a purchase.

"But I dont want to bring people to the gallery just to stare at that. It is something you’d see in a warzone rather than a nice beach. We're penned in."

The festival site (Image: Andrew Gardner / The Argus)

The huge wall runs alongside the pathway in Madeira Drive, starting near the entrance to the festival and extending beyond backstage almost to Sea Lanes.

She said the wall should be torn down outside her shop as it backs on to the queue to get in, which is not inside the festival.

Laura against the wall (Image: Andrew Gardner / The Argus)

"It's like they don't care about us. One of my artists was thinking of pulling out of the gallery for the next two weeks," she said.

"With the state of the economy I'm already behind on rent, and this is just another massive hit.

"If it is like this for two weeks out of a six week summer holiday, that's a third of the holidays taken up by this."

The fence in Marine Parade (Image: Andrew Gardner / The Argus)

On nearby Marine Parade, overlooking the festival, a mesh fence has been installed running the length of the site to ensure people don't get too close to the edge to watch the festival.

In previous years fabric has also been draped over the fence to prevent people from watching from the upper level, constantly manned by a number of security guards employed by the festival to ensure nobody caught a glimpse of the gigs.

The wall means passersby cannot see the stage (Image: Andrew Gardner / The Argus)

The festival was on at the weekend and returns next weekend, with over 10,000 people descending on the festival site each day, as big names such as Royal Blood, Noel Gallagher and Carl Cox take to the stage.

The Argus contacted Louder, which organises the event, for comment about Laura's concerns. A spokesman replied: "On The Beach 2023 has installed temporary Heras fencing on Marine Parade for the duration of the event.

"This fencing has been put in place for public safety reasons due to the cliff edge and the event has also installed fencing on the Royal Crescent Steps to restrict access to the middle terrace."

Even the statue of Olympian Steve Ovett has been blocked (Image: Andrew Gardner / The Argus)

"The fencing has been positioned in consultation with our partners including Sussex Police and Brighton and Hove City Council and our event providers including Health and Safety and Security.

"The event goes through a planning cycle which starts immediately after the previous year’s event and continues in close liaison with multiple agencies and event providers.

"A large security deployment is positioned on Marine Parade and a wider footprint outside of the event site who have direct communications with Event Control."