Fatboy Slim and MP Caroline Lucas back Brighton Hippodrome

DJ Fatboy Slim and Green MP Caroline Lucas gave their support for the continued restoration of the 127-year-old building.

People were invited to see the work on the Grade II* listed site on Monday ahead of public viewings tomorrow and Friday.

More than £5 million has been put into completely renovating the roof since developer Matsim bought the building in 2020.

The ceiling of the Brighton Hippodrome was completed and can be viewed by the public on Thursday and Friday (Image: The Argus)

The company said it cannot commit to doing any more work until it has the necessary consents in place.

Director Simon Lambor said: “The new planning application has been with them (the city council) for some time now, we’re at the point where we can’t commit to doing any more work until we’ve got the necessary consents in place.

“We want it to be brought back as a modern-day music hall, there will be an ancillary food and beverage offering and a partner hotel which we have planned carefully so it’s complementary.

“It has been general bureaucracy. Because it’s Grade II* listed, we can only do what we have consent for. We have had the application in for the major works, everything we have carried so far out has been a repair.

Fatboy Slim was all smiles seeing the progress at the Hippodrome (Image: The Argus)

"Once the consents are there we can get on with everything. We have been in a position of having to go very slowly for three years, we’re very eager to get on.

“We have got to a point where we have let some staff go where we can’t keep them busy doing repairs.”

On the council’s planning portal, National Highways said it had concerns regarding the traffic from the venue impacting nearby major roads including the A27 and A23.

In a planning document submitted in June, National Highways said: “We will be concerned with proposals that have the potential to impact on the safe and efficient operation of the strategic road network, in this case, particularly within the vicinity of the A23 and A27.”

It recommended that planning permission not be granted for a further period of three months until September 6 to allow Matsim to address its concerns.

The Hippodrome pictured in February 2022

Fatboy Slim, real name Norman Cook, said: “So many people could have lived in Brighton for 25 years and never set foot in here. They might have never known what a precious gem we have.

“It was a hard hat area until quite recently, I’ve worn hard hats every time I’ve been here. Now there are some snags in the planning application which I will do anything to help get through.

“If there is an appetite for Brightonians to have this, we can work through it.

“I’m hoping that any planning issues will be smoothed out. It would be a tragedy for it to have got this far and then not get over the line.

People got to see the progress on the Hippodrome on Monday (Image: The Argus)

“It’s a no-brainer for the people of Brighton to have such a historical and cultural building preserved. It’s a living museum of Brighton, it’s a symbol of Brighton’s past in terms of arts and culture.”

Caroline Lucas, Green MP for Brighton Pavilion, said: “I am incredibly excited to see the progress being made here. It is right near my office here in Middle Street so I pass it several times a week. I wish each time I have passed it that it was given the love and care that it is now by Matsim.

“It has been really transformative to see what they’ve done such as the less glamorous work to stop it leaking to the meticulous care with the plaster work. You really have a vision of what it’s going to be like.”