Brighton’s ground-breaking BNJC community campus is up and running with its first residents happily ensconced and inaugural services held in the shul which is at the heart of the project.

The long-cherished idea to redevelop Brighton and Hove Hebrew Congregation’s New Church Road site into a hub for all things Jewish and beyond was kick-started with a meeting addressed by the Chief Rabbi in September 2017.

Since then, project leaders have had to overcome various obstacles — 1,000 objections at planning stage, a time-consuming judicial review and a pandemic.

However, with the unwavering support of Brighton and Hove Football Club chairman Tony Bloom through his Bloom Foundation, the ambitious development is close to completion and will soon be offering additional amenities including a café, restaurant and sushi bar, kosher shop and bakery, co-working spaces, a nursery, gym and areas for social and cultural events.

Relations with neighbours have been smoothed. Indeed, two classrooms have been built on the border of BNJC and the adjacent St Christopher’s School, which are shared between the parties.

“The school uses them during the day and we use them on weekends and holidays,” explained BNJC chief executive Marc Sugarman.

He is keen to promote BNJC’s food offerings and fitness facilities to the parents of the 350 pupils as part of efforts to attract use from the wider community, as well as all strands of local Jewry.

“It’s for two reasons. Brighton is not a huge Jewish community so we have to appeal beyond it to make this work financially. And it’s also for interfaith purposes.”

Brighton and Hove Hebrew Congregation synagogue

Worshippers in the new Brighton and Hove Hebrew Congregation synagogue, whose first services attracted big turnouts

BNJC is still something of a construction site with a hive of activity as the final building work is completed.

Mr Sugarman doesn’t expect the site to be fully operational until after Pesach. But he was this week hopeful of starting a limited bakery service and is already fielding requests for challah and bagels from Jews and non-Jews alike.

The shul held its first service last Thursday with a turnout of 40 curious and enthusiastic worshippers at the cosy and welcoming space, incorporating striking design touches such as “Toblerone tiles” around the ark.

Rabbi Hershel Rader — who has served the shul for 13 years — described the new premises as a stark contrast to its “decrepit” former buildings.

There were more attendees on Friday night and well over 100 on Shabbat morning, which regulars estimated was around four times the normal number. A lavish kiddush might have been an additional enticement.

Hershel Rader

Rabbi Hershel Rader sees an exciting new era for his shul and Brighton Jewry

Among the congregation was Tony Bloom, who heard Rabbi Rader and others pay fulsome tribute to his commitment to BNJC.

The minister also wished Mr Bloom’s team luck for their afternoon game, although he didn’t think they would need it, an accurate assessment given Brighton’s 4-0 thumping of West Ham.

Mr Bloom told the JC afterwards: “It was wonderful to see the shul full and looking so beautiful. There was tremendous ruach and I really felt the warmth that is the hallmark of this community.

“The future for Brighton and Hove Jewry looks exceptionally bright with the opportunities and experiences the new shul and all the accompanying facilities will bring to so many people.”

One virtue of a modern building is flexible space, meaning the shul can be extended to accommodate 270 people for festivals.

And Mr Sugarman pointed out that BNJC could host a sit-down simchah for 200 guests — “a chupah in the courtyard, with its beautiful row of elm trees, will be stunning”.

Heated umbrellas outside will also facilitate extended dining areas for the restaurant, which is led by Yanir Mrejen, who launched the Novellino Bistro in Golders Green and has worked under top chefs including Gordon Ramsay.

A group of local communal charities has taken one of the offices; the nursery, an important source of revenue, is set to open in June.

On the housing front, 16 of the 45 properties are spoken for, with around half-a-dozen buyers or renters having moved in. Five are reserved for Jewish housing association use and one for the rabbi’s flat.

Mr Sugarman said that most occupants were initially renting, affording them the opportunity to experience the services springing up around them before committing to purchase.

Many were from London, having taken one of the site tours conducted over recent months.
One purchaser is Brighton local Sara Elman, who works for a talent agency in London.

Although hailing “from a strong line of Jewish women”, she is non-practising and had been initially hesitant about living in a site incorporating an Orthodox synagogue, albeit one her grandmother had been a lifelong member of.

But a site visit had sold the project to her and glancing around the completed synagogue last Friday, she observed: “This is how a shul should be. It should help me reconnect to my faith.

“They have managed to make it [BNJC] welcoming to all. The moment I walked onto the site, I felt at home.

“I’ve hidden my Jewishness under a rug. My aim is to be part of a community as much as I can and to learn and relearn. Whether I go to a service [she did attend on Friday night] or just come to sit in shul with my thoughts, it’s very special.”

Sara Elman

Sara Elman and dog Evie on the balcony of her BNJC apartment

Ms Elman was excited by talk of yoga classes and intended to take one of the co-working spaces. She was possibly even more enthused by the prospect of access to fresh challah.

Post-pandemic, she had tried living in London but “hated it. Then I found out about this.

“Starting from mid-life, I have another chapter. I might even consider going to the mikveh.
“I’ve always worked in London but lived in Brighton. You get the best of both worlds. There’s something about being by the sea which makes everyone calmer.”

Rabbi Rader, meanwhile, is delighted to be leading “a shul for the 21st century”, adding that being involved in the first service was “very emotional and a great privilege.

“Obviously it’s a very attractive place to come and worship. But we are going to be putting on strong educational and social programmes we hope will attract more people.”

He cited the example of a family who moved to Brighton last summer, telling him that BNJC had “tipped the balance” in their decision. And they have now joined Rabbi Rader’s congregation.

The shul currently numbers around 200 families, “with a very strong nucleus of people who are really committed”. Its enhanced facilities would provide a platform for “living a much fuller Jewish life. It will give the next generation a great sense of pride in their Jewish identity.”

Not quite everything is sweetness and light. The merger with the other local Orthodox mainstream shul, Hove Hebrew Congregation, that was envisioned at the outset has not materialised.

But Mr Sugarman hopes that Hove members, plus those from the city’s Reform and Progressive communities will support BNJC activities in numbers.

And he is anticipating significant use from organisations and individuals from London and other Jewish centres.

In addition to the dining options, a massive newly-installed screen in the main social area will show everything from televised football to screenings for the Seret Israeli film festival.

And four apartments have been held back for weekend stays and Shabbatons, for which bookings are building up. “We can take up to ten kids in an apartment with Z-beds.

“It does sound too good to be true but it really has come out well,” Mr Sugarman concluded. Even worth waiting six years for.