Plans submitted to Brighton and Hove City Council have shed new light on the long awaited restoration of the iconic British Engineerium near Hove Park.

Designs for a two-storey extension block, restaurant area and extensive underground exhibition space reveal some of the details in the ongoing project to resurrect the Victorian power station.

The new plans also mention cycle spaces, disabled access and solar technology, but the developer is keen to stress the importance of preserving the look and feel of the industrial architecture.

The historic pump house was opened in 1866, supplying water to the city for over eighty years before the giant steam powered engines were finally retired.

Once raising almost 300,000 gallons an hour from the chalk basin of the Goldstone valley, the Grade II listed building began a new life as a museum in the early 1970s, attracting visitors and school parties to special steam days when the gears and pistons were set in motion once again.

Falling into decline, the Engineerium was saved from the auctioneer’s hammer in 2006 by local property developer and enthusiast Mike Holland - who announced plans to restore the entire site into an ambitious historical centre featuring new exhibition halls, film shows and other attractions.

“We have such fantastic history in Brighton and Hove and I want to make the museum a place where people can learn about that as well as the engineering," said Holland, leaving no detail overlooked - even to the sourcing of twenty tons of special ‘steam’ coal from a recently re-opened Welsh mine.

There is currently no date listed for the completion of the restoration project, but the council is expected to reach a decision on the new proposals by the end of April.

Paul Bradshaw