How politicians got decorating to help homeless men and women in Brighton

It is six years since the infamous Regency House Hotel closed its doors to the unwanted guests that had stalked its corridors for many years – fleas, rats and death.

The Regency House Hotel was renowned for its appalling standards, its fleas and rats, the absence of the most basic amenities such as working bathrooms and toilets, and an inadequate fire detection system. It accommodated 59 men in conditions that were a scandal in a civilised country.

But that has all changed following a £5 million acquisition and refurbishment of the building by a partnership led by BHT, the now renamed Phase 1 Project is now a modern, safe place of change. The refurbishment, overseen by local architects Deacon and Richardson Partnership, has won heritage and environmental sustainability awards.

Not only had the building been forgotten, so too had the 59 residents who once lived there. The building was decaying and the residents were abandoned to addiction, chaotic mental illness, and even death. In the 1990s I undertook research with HM Coroner for Brighton and Hove into suicides and drug related deaths in the City. The Regency House Hotel appeared more often than any other address, on average three times each year. We called it the Hospice for the Homeless.

But a partnership involving BHT, Brighton and Hove City Council and William Sutton Homes (now part of Affinity Sutton), has seen a transformation, not only of the building, but most importantly, the opportunities offered to the 52 men and women who are now accommodated in a safe environment, receive support, and can move forward with their lives.

This morning something different descended on the Phase 1 Project – a team of Conservative Party members, led by local parliamentry candidate, Charlotte Vere, former Housing Minister, Alistair Burt MP, Baroness Warsi, Shadow Minister for Community Cohesion and Social Action, and Brighton and Hove City Council’s lead councillor for housing, Maria Caulfield. 

Their task was not party political campaigning but the redecoration of the dining room at the Phase 1 Project.  A coat of paint here, glossing the woodwork there, and copious cups of tea and coffee – not forgetting sampling marmalade made by a BHT social enterprise called Flavour -  peace once again descended on the Project as the team of decorators returned to normal duties at their Spring Conference. 

The reaction of one resident said what needed saying: “Wow, it looks brilliant”.  All I can add is a big “thank you”.