Black Rock Station stands beside the site proposed for temporary leisure use. Photo: PAUL FARMER / Geograph, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Taken 31 July 2019; the image does not show the proposed venue.
Last updated: 8 October 2026, 11:35am BST
A Black Rock Brighton padel plan combining courts, fitness facilities, food and drink and mental-health programmes has been recommended as the temporary use for the eastern seafront site. Brighton & Hove City Council’s Cabinet will decide on Thursday 15 October whether officers can negotiate a lease of up to five years with the preferred, currently unnamed bidder.
In short
- Council officers recommend a temporary padel, fitness and wellbeing venue at Black Rock.
- The proposed lease would last no more than five years and include break clauses.
- The operator would pay a fixed annual rent and require no council capital contribution.
- The bidder’s identity, rent, prices, court numbers and opening date have not been made public.
- Cabinet meets at Hove Town Hall at 10.30am on Thursday 15 October.
What the Black Rock Brighton padel plan would include
The council received four expressions of interest for a “meanwhile use” of Black Rock while it develops longer-term plans for the land. The bids were scored on operational plan and provider history, worth 40%; local economic impact, worth 20%; and rent, worth 40%.
The highest-scoring proposal is described in the official Cabinet report as a temporary active-leisure, sport and wellbeing destination. It would bring padel, fitness, food and drink and mental-health programming to the site, with possible jobs, coaching, training, volunteering and work-experience opportunities.
This is not a completed deal. Cabinet is being asked to name “Bidder 1” as the preferred operator, after which officers would carry out financial and operational checks and negotiate the heads of terms. The public report withholds the bidder’s identity, rental offer, evaluation scores and detailed commercial terms because negotiations are continuing.
A second proposal, for a public beach hub with community facilities, food and drink and event space, would be kept in reserve if terms cannot be agreed with the preferred bidder. Officers say it offered a lower and less certain financial return.
What any five-year lease must protect
The proposed lease would be capped at five years, contain break and termination provisions and require the operator to remove its infrastructure when the agreement ends. Unless the council agrees otherwise, the tenant would have to return the land in broadly the same condition and pay the reinstatement cost.
The recommended bid offers a fixed annual rent and requires no council capital investment. The amount is confidential. The report says income is unlikely to arrive during the 2026/27 financial year because of the expected timing of the agreement, so residents should not read next week’s vote as an immediate opening announcement.
Planning permission, licensing and other operational approvals may still be required. The council also says it will seek measurable social-value commitments covering affordable or free access, participation by under-represented groups, mental-health activity, local employment and training. These are aims for negotiation rather than confirmed benefits at this stage.
Why it matters locally
Black Rock occupies a highly visible stretch between Brighton Marina, Madeira Drive, Kemptown and Whitehawk. The council says it has already invested about £18 million in land remediation, utilities, sea defences, an 800-metre boardwalk, walking and cycling connections and improvements to Volk’s Electric Railway station and public toilets.
That makes the interim proposal more than a new sports venue. It is a test of whether the prepared site can produce reliable income and useful community activity without delaying permanent regeneration. The council’s longer-term ambition includes a nationally significant visual-arts destination, but no fixed gallery scheme, funding package or timetable has been approved.
Earlier reporting by Brighton and Hove News on 5 October recorded calls for meaningful public consultation and noted the site’s long history of stalled proposals. The new report adds the first clear recommended use, but leaves important questions unanswered.
Brighton Locals’ view
Using Black Rock for sport and wellbeing while a permanent scheme is developed looks sensible in principle. A rent-paying operator, no council capital contribution and a reversible five-year structure limit public financial exposure and avoid leaving valuable seafront land inactive.
The public-benefit case is not yet proven, however. Affordability, accessible facilities, free or reduced-price sessions and meaningful links with Whitehawk and East Brighton need to become contractual, measurable obligations. The council should publish the operator, final rent, pricing approach and social-value targets once commercial sensitivity ends. Without those details, residents cannot fully judge value for money or whether the venue will serve more than an already active, higher-spending audience.
What residents need to know
- Follow the decision: item 58 is on the Cabinet agenda for 15 October. The meeting starts at 10.30am at Hove Town Hall and is scheduled for webcast.
- Do not book yet: no operator, prices, court numbers, membership terms, opening hours or opening date have been announced.
- For nearby residents: the report promises early engagement with Whitehawk, East Brighton and relevant community organisations as planning and operational approvals progress.
- Watch for a planning application: detailed design and any required planning or licensing process will provide the next opportunity to inspect operating hours, access, noise, lighting and travel arrangements.
What to watch next
The first test is Cabinet’s vote on 15 October. If approved, the decisive evidence will be the outcome of due diligence, the signed heads of terms, the operator’s identity and rent, a planning application and a published social-value framework with targets and reporting dates. The same meeting also considers the council’s £23.8 million overspend forecast.
For the permanent future of Black Rock, the next meaningful step would be a funded business case or formal partnership for the proposed cultural destination. Until then, the gallery remains an ambition rather than a committed project.
Bottom line
Black Rock could gain a five-year padel and wellbeing venue, but next week’s decision only authorises negotiations. The proposal becomes convincing when its price, operator, access commitments and timetable are public and enforceable.
Sources and image credit
- Primary source: Brighton & Hove City Council, Black Rock Future Vision and Meanwhile Use report.
- Meeting details: Cabinet agenda, 15 October 2026.
- Secondary source: Brighton and Hove News, 5 October 2026.
- Featured image: Black Rock Station, Brighton by PAUL FARMER, licensed CC BY-SA 2.0. The photograph was taken in 2019 and shows the station beside the site, not the proposed venue.
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