All eyes on Bovis again, Let's be fair, How strange...

There have been two good pieces of news about the French Convalescent Home in Marine Parade, Brighton, this year.

One is that the 101-year-old building has been listed by the Department of Culture as being of historic or architectural importance. The other is that Bovis Retirement Homes have, as a result, abandoned their application to pull down the home so that it could be replaced by very sheltered housing.

What we badly need now is a third piece of good news: that the building is to remain as the much-loved nursing home it has been for many years. We do not want it sold on as luxury flats, which are more likely to go to rich outsiders from London than to local people.

The future of the home is now down to Bovis which is still likely to buy it from the trustees who have run it until now. If Bovis want to be cynical they can sell it to the highest bidder. If they really have the interests of retired people at heart they will arrange for it to continue to play a vital part in the community.

Bovis's decision is bound to affect how Brighton and Hove views any further attempts by this company to provide local homes for the elderly in the future.

Let's be fair

Millions of pounds have been available from the European URBAN Fund for schemes to alleviate poverty and deprivation in East Brighton.

Although problems on the Whitehawk estate have been the prime reason for this money, the local community has found it remarkably difficult to get grants.

Groups from outside with more professional expertise have found it easier to steer their way through the bureaucracy imposed by Brussels.

Brighton and Hove Council, which runs the local scheme for Europe, must try even harder to ensure that in future, Whitehawk groups are able to get a fair share of the booty.

How strange . . .

Benedict le Vay, who's written a book on English eccentrics, is no mean slouch at being odd himself.

As secretary of the Friends of the A272, he's been trying to slow down traffic on the winding road when every driver on it wants to go faster.

By his criteria, there are a lot of eccentrics who share his aims in the middle of Brighton and Hove. They're called engineers. They work for the borough council and what they do is termed traffic-calming.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.