Fitzherbert Community Hub, Brighton

Client: Catholic Parish of East Brighton

Location: Kemptown, Brighton

Cost: 250K build budget

Area: N/A

Project Type: Community

XQLA are extremely pleased to have supported four local organisations in East Brighton on a ground-breaking shared vision for social change. Working with the Catholic Church of East Brighton, Voices in Exile, the Real Junk Food Project and the Brighton Table Tennis Club, we helped to build a “community of communities” in a socially inclusive space; where people can eat, play and thrive.

Working with Stead & Co. Architects this project has repurposed the church hall, ground and first floor offices and associated external courtyard adjacent to the Grade 2* St John Baptist Church and Presbytery into a flexible and welcoming community hub. The accessible courtyard offers a space to dine for the ‘pay as you feel’ café, as well as table tennis practice area with a focus on those who are currently physically inactive or mobility impaired.

The scheme aligns the guiding values and aspirations of each organisation: to progressively and determinedly reduce food poverty and social isolation by providing a safe place where local people can come to eat, form lasting relationships, exercise and belong.