Good morning, Brighton. It’s definitely taken an autumnal turn in the last 48hrs but no need to get glum; there’s plenty happening in town this weekend you’ll be fall-ing over yourself to do.

In today’s Brighton Scoop:

- Phil Reynolds

Good news for EV drivers: from Thursday 15 October, more than 500 of the city's chargepoints will switch from Blink Charging UK to new operators Believ and Char.gy. Time to download a new app or two. Third-party apps should work as well.

The real treat is the price. Most charging costs are dropping, with cheaper overnight rates on standard chargers and across all fast and rapid ones.

There's plenty more coming. 500 new chargepoints have gone in since March, with 600 more planned in six months. 50 rapid chargers start going in this October. Already, 86% of households are within a five-minute walk of a public charger.

Homes without driveways could get nearly 200 pavement gullies, so cables can run safely to the kerb in light of government changes to EV pavement charging in conservation areas.

A new competition is asking the nation to name its favourite local business, and Brighton shops, restaurants, salons, hotels and attractions are all eligible. Nominations are free. You give the business name and a reason at www.lovelocalwin.co.uk.

The business with the most nominations wins a £1,000 Town & City Gift Card, such as the Brighton Gift Card. One lucky nominator wins another £1,000, so £2,000 is up for grabs in total.

The Brighton Gift Card, launched by Brilliant Brighton in 2023, can be spent with over 60 businesses. These range from Costa, Lush and Pret A Manger to independents like Donatello and Bert's (my favourite). Entries close on 30 November 2026.

Universal Quantum, a University of Sussex spin-out, has bagged over $100 million in Series A funding. That's the biggest Series A raised by a UK quantum firm and a record for a Sussex spin-out.

Founded by Professor Winfried Hensinger and Dr Sebastian Weidt, the company grew from a 2017 blueprint for a large-scale trapped-ion quantum computer. It now has sites on three continents and over 100 employees.

The cash will fund its modular, error-correcting quantum computers. These could eventually help with drug discovery, advanced materials and greener energy. The news of this exceptional investment in research from University of Sussex follows the recent announcement by NASA that University of Sussex researchers are to play a leading role in an upcoming mission.

Firgun Ventures and DCVC co-led the round, with a long list of other backers, including Roblox's Dave Baszucki.

The big hope is turning Sussex and Brighton into a "Quantum Silicon Valley", bringing skilled jobs and further investment to the region.

👣 Our regular feature purely because so many of you (including us) love it. Sunday brings us a 0.8m low tide at 6.11am and 6.30pm so your best bet if you want to catch it is head on down early eve as sunset is 6.16pm so you could be in for a photographic treat if the tides out and we get some burning skies in the golden hour. Water’s looking flat and 18° so you could dip those tootsies in if you fancy too. Enjoy! Full Tide Times

☁️ | 📈 18° | 📉 9° | ☔️ 50% | 🌬️ WSW 22mph | 🌊 4-5ft

☀️ | 📈 16° | 📉 8° | ☔️ 10% | 🌬️ W 16mph | 🌊 2-3ft

🌤️ | 📈 16° | 📉 10° | ☔️ 5% | 🌬️ WNW 8mph | 🌊 0-1ft

Be sure to tag us @brightonscoop to get your photos featured

Cinemas aren’t going to fill themselves. Break a habit of a lifetime, turn off Netflix, get off the sofa and potter down to your local (cinema).

Duke of York’s Picturehouse - Book

Tour of Duke of Yorks | Digger | Social Reckoning | 🎈Hoppers | Resident Evil

Dukes at Komedia - Book

Girls Like Girls | Met Opera Encore 26-27: Cosi Fan Tutte | Sense and Sensibility | Bad Apples | Resident Evil | Verity | Manhunter 40th Anniversary | Shaun The Sheep: Beast of Mossy Bottom | Queen Budapest | Under The Skin | Extra Geography

🎈 Family friendly events

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