On 23 Jul 2016 at 8:34am landporter wrote:
Walked round it yesterday, loved it. I thought the brickwork was superb, loved the cut off corners and I hope the hotel and the shops that'll be under it prove a roaring success.
On 23 Jul 2016 at 8:45am Tipex wrote:
I agree it's a great bit of design. Looks like it's been there forever.
On 23 Jul 2016 at 12:15pm Local wrote:
But surely you're both wrong? Lots of people on here said it was going to be the end of the world as we know it. They know best, because they're classic Lewes busy-body know-alls...
But personally, I think it's a superbly resolved piece of "blend in" architecture which, in the absence of a truly great architect that would be required to produce an innovative contemporary masterpiece, is the most successful result that anyone could have wished for. Top marks.
On 23 Jul 2016 at 1:15pm Mark wrote:
I'm a classic Lewes, busybody, know-all and I was very worried about how it would turn out but there's no doubt that it's spot on thus far.
On 23 Jul 2016 at 2:19pm Fairmeadow wrote:
Loved the brickwork!!! Grey bricks laid as continuous stretchers, when they ought to be all headers, or at the very least Dutch bond, to resonate with any known Lewes style. What a solecism. Just take a look around you, or look at Alec Clifton-Taylor's 'Lewes' on YouTube.
On 23 Jul 2016 at 2:21pm Skid Mark wrote:
Yes I agreed, chin chin, let's all quaff another pimms while we admire a premier inn! Classic architecture I wonder what the car park will look like.
On 23 Jul 2016 at 4:54pm Fred2016 wrote:
Remember this is vast improvement on magistrates court which should never have been built.
On 23 Jul 2016 at 6:30pm Alex Polizzi wrote:
I see that it's already fully booked for Bonfire Night.
On 23 Jul 2016 at 7:37pm Ginger Marks wrote:
I rather like it too. Not keen on the quirky flint and brickwork panels though. Smacks of trying a little too hard. If you continue along Friar's Walk towards the (railway) station and look at the buildings that run between St.Nicholas Lane and the Landsdown, you'll see an almost exact match, curved frontage and all. It'll be interesting to see how they resolve the shop frontages but a cautious thumbs up from me so far...and it's miles better than the magistrates court that was there before.
On 23 Jul 2016 at 8:14pm Resident wrote:
@local. If it wasn't for the Lewes busy-body know-alls the first design which was recommended for approval by the SDNPA would have been accepted, as it was also approved by the so called friends of Lewes and we would now have a wood and glass box not dissimilar to Caffyns showroom.
On 23 Jul 2016 at 9:47pm Hardly... wrote:
Whilst I don't wish to burst anyone's bubbles (and I'm not suggesting "rusty hotel") it's not pretty, it's not cutting edge, it's not even environmentally sustainable. Stop congratulating yourselves people no victory has been won, it's another humdrum brick building and it could have been so much more. I think you're just celebrating that it wasn't so much less, after you've seen it a few times you'll agree it's nothing special a real wasted opportunity.
On 23 Jul 2016 at 9:54pm Is it not dissimilar wrote:
or even similar to the rail viaduct that used to be there ?
On 23 Jul 2016 at 11:04pm Grunge wrote:
In other words, it blends in. Isn't that what we want?
On 23 Jul 2016 at 11:24pm Hardly... wrote:
Blends in just about sums it up, I want something tasteful that stands out and actually looks like it was built in 2016, materials and all. People can look at it in 100 years and appreciate the wealth of history in lewes. It's just another bland brick building that would get knocked down if the site was ever recycled.
On 24 Jul 2016 at 12:36am Local wrote:
Resident - your lot were moaning about the revised design, giving every indication of being incurable NIMBYs.
Hardly - You agree with me. I spoke about what a great architect might have been able to do. But they won't work for the sort of fee that Premier Inn developers will pay, nor, quite possibly, will they want to adhere to what would be a very restrictive brief, ie multiple virtually-identical hotel rooms, etc.
On 24 Jul 2016 at 2:40am Mr Me wrote:
@Hardly. I can assure you that the Premier Inn has been built and designed in the best environmentally sustainable way possible to suit the needs of Lewes even if it has virtually identical hotel rooms but room 106 and 206 are the dog's rear swingers!
On 24 Jul 2016 at 8:45am Mr me wrote:
Thanks mr me, I will take your assurances and flush them down the toilet. If you think brick is environmentally sustainable then frankly your assurances are worthless. Other than cement its about the most environmentally unfriendly way possible.
On 24 Jul 2016 at 10:37am Lewes Voter 3 wrote:
It should never have been built. Along with hundreds of decent ordinary working people I complained to the council and still have not heard back from my latest complaint. Lewes character would be ruined and nobody wanted a chain hotel. We already have enough proper places to stay and more than enough visitors. I remember Princess Diana coming here to open the court and have told the council it's disgusting to see her memory treated shabbily like this.
On 24 Jul 2016 at 10:57am pearliegirliestar wrote:
Moan, moan, bloody, moan. I don't know why anyone would want to come here at all, because as usual everyone moans about everything. It's a Lewes pastime - moan about the buildings, moan about the people that come here , moan about the noise, moan about the weather, moan about the beer, moan about the grammar, I have never met such a bunch of negative, middle aged, crusty moaners. It looks good. The town will die and end up looking like Newhaven & Seaford with nothing but charity shops if there is no investment. For god sake stop moaning about every last thing. (And I'm not talking about fighting for the best buildings and the best businesses, just the moaning that goes with it)
On 24 Jul 2016 at 11:04am ClarifiedButler wrote:
Lewes Voter 3: We certainly do not have enough accommodation to meet the current demand, and the only people who can afford to invest in building another decent sized hotel was always going to be a big chain. In the weirdest way possible, I prefer the Premier Inn option when compared to what else we could have been lumped with. We needed visitor accommodation in the 'affordable' end of the spectrum. Lewes is in serious danger of just becoming a playground for the well-orf (it's probably too far gone as it is) so having a little dose of reality isn't entirely a bad thing.
On 24 Jul 2016 at 11:25am Townie wrote:
Lewes voter 3......I wanted a chain hotel.
Ive often wondered about the type of people who "write a strongly worded complaint to the council" are. Get a life pal, go and enjoy yourself, take your zimmer frame out to the pub and get a bit tipsy on Harveys.
On 24 Jul 2016 at 11:56am Hardly... wrote:
I really don't agree that it should never have been built, it's just another lacklustre brick building that does my head in. How about building something that sets a new standard from both design and build point of view. Something that is still wanted in 100 years.
On 24 Jul 2016 at 12:07pm Local wrote:
In a time of mass production, rigid building regulations, aesthetic conservatism and tight finances, you are not going to get outstanding architecture and engineering for a mid-market hotel in a (pretty but honestly) average small town. Simple fact. We should be grateful we have what's materialised, even though ti's not made from wattle and daub or recycled hand-felted cardigans, like some would wish for...
On 24 Jul 2016 at 12:12pm Grunge wrote:
Hardly: do you mean like that awful top-heavy tower in London?
On 24 Jul 2016 at 12:13pm Egon wrote:
Lewes Voter 3: You say we already have enough proper places to stay...excluding the very good B & B's where are all these places? There are the obvious hotels but not sure I would want to stay in any of them. At least a chain hotel, and Premier being one of the best, standards will be kept up and not aloud to drop through lack of investment. Also the staff will have proper training to help maintain good customer service.
On 24 Jul 2016 at 12:57pm Paul Burrell wrote:
I was there with Diana . I was her rock now I'm just a cock.
On 24 Jul 2016 at 9:19pm Q wrote:
MR me, brick is good for many hundreds of years and can be recycled as hardcore, how is this not sustainable? The energy used per year of building life is minimal.
On 24 Jul 2016 at 10:40pm Hardly... wrote:
No I really am not thinking along the lines of the gherkin. Although that actually would have looked pretty cool in that location at about 1/6th scale. Most exteriors these days can be done with cladding (including brick) so if they really felt the need for brick it could have been achieved in a much friendlier way. Personally given the age of the properties in that location, I really don't see the point of making bland to blend in, do something contemporary and actually add something architecturally to Lewes that people will want to keep.
On 24 Jul 2016 at 10:48pm Hardly... wrote:
@Q bricks is great if the building is going to stand for hundreds are years, if it stands for minimal time like the building before it, it is very bad. Obviously the best way to build is by chopping down fully grown trees (as trees no longer convert a lot of carbon once full size) and replace them with new trees. But I'm not suggesting a wood hotel, it's a bit ski lodge and not the best structurally. But they could easily of used brick cladding if bricks was needed. Personally I think it's not offensive but doesn't do anything to expand architecture in Lewes.
On 25 Jul 2016 at 11:03am Noel Coward wrote:
ghasltly dull as ditch water nothingness,boring unimaginative used tea leaf of a building,I will always know it as Brexit tower,chin chin..
On 25 Jul 2016 at 7:41pm Lottie wrote:
I don't mind the building, but why the funny little widow high up on the left hand side - what's that all about?
On 25 Jul 2016 at 9:38pm Peeping ton wrote:
Please don't mention that window, it's mine.
On 25 Jul 2016 at 10:45pm Rapunzel wrote:
It's mine you peeping perv.
On 25 Jul 2016 at 10:47pm Rapunzel wrote:
It's mine you peeping perv.
On 25 Jul 2016 at 11:19pm Meldrew wrote:
Alex Polizzi on the Lewes Forum?
A bit muscular looking for my liking, must be all that trudging up the B&B stairs. But mustn't grumble
On 26 Jul 2016 at 3:45pm Pervy Pete wrote:
On a scale of one to ten I'd give it seven.
As for Alex Polizzi I'd give her one.
On 26 Jul 2016 at 3:57pm Another B and B lady wrote:
We nee ore bedrooms in Lewes, of all sorts. Always turning people away, every day, in the summer. There Re now at least 20 airbnbs in Lewes and lots of people piling into that market. I wonder if that might finally peak, but the Premier Inn bus are needed which is,why the SDNP gave it planning permission.
The good citizens of Lewes were horrified by the original, radical and rather interesting design, so developer told to go away and design something that wouldn't frighten the residents. What we have isn't too bad and does fit in. For truly excellent architecture, wait to www the Depot when it is finished.. A terrific response to the existing building on the site and it should be one of Lewes's best new buildings. It will also be truly sustainable and a wonderful exMple of how this can be done properly. Excellent award winning architects, and an excellent very well established builder who should finish it really well. Commissioned and paid for by a charitable trust, not a developer. And before everyone slags off developers, they have shareholders, have to raise the money to do the developent and have to make a profit.. That's capitalism and that's the way it works.
Also, the developer built the Friar's Walk building and owns it. Premier Inn are tenants on the first floor only. The shops and restaurant below will also be tenants.
On 26 Jul 2016 at 3:59pm Another B and B lady wrote:
Sorry for the typos before everyone piles in and tells me about them .....