The volunteer crew at Brighton RNLI Lifeboat Station are on the move to a temporary new home, but the public are being assured that it will be business as usual for the charity that saves lives at sea.
Amid plans for a major expansion of Brighton Marina, the current lifeboat station will be demolished and rebuilt elsewhere on the development, with better facilities for those who give up their time to save others. In addition, space is being provided for an integrated sales kiosk to support the fundraising activities of the RNLI charity.
Brighton RNLI Lifeboat Station has been at its current home on the marina’s West Quay since the year 2000, following the purchase of the marina in 1996 by development company, Brunswick. It had been operational elsewhere on the marina site since 24 December 1979, based in portable accommodation.
Following planning permission granted by Brighton and Hove City Council the company will soon start work on the first phase of the approved development.
Supporters of the charity are now being reassured that the cost of the new building will be met by the developers, not by the voluntary contributions that the lifeboat charity relies on for its survival.
The floating boathouse which houses the Atlantic 85 class lifeboat, Random Harvest, will be moved elsewhere in the marina once the redevelopment begins. The crew room will be pulled down, to be rebuilt elsewhere, while a temporary structure will be erected to allow the station to operate while the project is underway.
Roger Cohen, Brighton RNLI Lifeboat Operations Manager, said the move will not affect the crew’s ability to launch on the lifesaving rescue missions: ‘We will be moving to temporary facilities but it will be very much business as usual for the volunteers. In the long run we will actually benefit because Brunswick have factored a new lifeboat station into their plans for the marina development, so the end result will be a newer station.’
Roger also paid tribute to the original donor whose contribution helped to pay for the boathouse at Brighton 17 years ago: ‘The current crew room and station was funded thanks to a generous donation from the FC Cooper Trust. We have been in contact with them as a courtesy to inform them of the work and we remain very grateful to the Trustees for their generosity to the RNLI. The station will move and the building work will be starting shortly If building work goes to plan the new station will be provided before the completion of the first phase which is scheduled to be finished by June 2016.
Since the year 2000, lifeboat crew members at Brighton RNLI have launched on a total of a total of 924 rescue missions, not to mention going afloat for regular training exercises to ensure the volunteers’ skills are sharp and they are ready for all eventualities.