News

Burying a good idea

Published 19 April 2012

University of Brighton students have come up with a unique idea to regenerate an area of the city – bury a rail line underground.

The idea sprang from a project involving two teams of town planning students who worked for five weeks on new ideas for the Hollingdean area of Brighton. The students were approached by Green ward councillors Christina Summers and Sven Rufus who wanted residents surveyed on how they would like to see their neighbourhood improved.

It is the fourth year that university students have been asked for creative ideas for areas of the city. This time, both teams identified safety concerns in The Dip area of Hollingdean and around access to Moulsecoomb rail station.

Their suggestions included improving access to the South Downs National Park via footpaths and walking trails.

Dr Samer Bagaeen, the university's principal lecturer in town planning, said the current path of the east coast rail line in Brighton isolates Hollingdean from other parts of the city. Burying the line, he said, would open up new areas for residents, although both councillors said funding currently was not available for such a project.

Dr Samer Bagaeen (in the centre) and town planning students

Dr Bagaeen said, "The students successfully pulled apart the various layers and components of the area, spoke extensively with residents and drew up detailed and imaginative solutions in a short period of time. In addition to public realm improvements, these included proposals to improve the quality, connectivity and use of green space throughout Hollingdean, redeveloping The Dip and improving access to the National Park. It is our aspiration that next year's cohort of students on the Master of Science in Town Planning will be able to take some of these proposals forward in greater detail."