Part of a former pumping station will be turned into a yoga studio.

Brighton and Hove City Council has approved the conversion of the gate house, which is currently being used as a storage facility inside The British Engineerium in The Droveway, Hove, into a yoga, Pilates and dance studio.

The application was submitted on behalf of the owners of the site as part of an initiative to “bring one of the buildings back into use and place the organisation on a more financially viable footing to better secure the Engineerium’s long-term preservation”.

The studio will hold classes for about 30 people between 7am and 9pm seven days a week, while two full- time and three part-time staff will be employed.

As part of the application, two disabled car parking spaces and covered and secure cycle parking will also be provided.

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One comment on the application raised concerns regarding reports of nesting peregrine falcons at the site, however due to works only being internal, the officer report states that “no disruption should occur however the applicant shall be reminded of their duties regarding nesting birds under the Wildlife Act by way of an informative”.

The application’s planning statement reads: “The application aids the growth and accessibility of a much-loved community site, with the proposed recreational activities in the building being made available to all.”

The building, which formerly housed the Goldstone Pumping Station (water works), closed as a museum in 2006 and was bought in 2022 by the trustees of The British Engineerium.

The pumping station, which was built in 1866, ceased to be fully operational in the late 1940s and fully closed in 1952 when steam power was replaced.

The building was almost demolished in 1971 but was saved by Jonathan Minns in 1974, who then opened the site as a museum in 1976 and named it The British Engineerium.

Five parts of the building are currently Grade II listed, including the boiler and engine house, the chimney, the cooling pond and leat, the former coal shed and the enclosing walls.