Good morning, Brighton. How’re we fairing this morning? The Albion head to Old Trafford this evening for the Carabao Cup third round. But if that doesn’t float your boat, it’s also National Guacamole Day so head to the grocers and avo party later 🥑.

In today’s Brighton Scoop:

Dinner's Ready: £4.8m Feast for Community Spirit
Top 16 at National Pizza Awards
Arches of the Future: Seafront Set for Another £41m Boost
Meter's Running: Taxi Drivers Push for Fare Hike

- Phil Reynolds

What’s the Scoop

Dinner's Ready: £4.8m Feast for Community Spirit

🥣 Grab a fork — a hearty new project called Extended Table has landed, proving that nothing brings folks together quite like food. Backed by £4.8 million from National Lottery players over five years, this UK-wide initiative (led by NOW Group with Real Farming Trust, Cyrenians, Brighton & Hove Food Partnership, OrganicLea and Hornbeam) is dishing up community cafes, pantries and cooking sessions to tackle isolation and build confidence.

It's part of The National Lottery Community Fund's "It starts with community" strategy, aiming to get strangers swapping stories over shared meals rather than just swapping small talk. Real Farming Trust will stir the evaluation pot, feeding lessons back into a fairer food system nationwide.

In short: more plates, fewer strangers, stronger communities. 👏

Top 16 at National Pizza Awards

🍕 Stretch Hove got into the TOP 16 at the National Pizza Awards

Amazing achievement to make the final 16 in the whole of the UK. What a talented bunch they are. Head over to Stretch to sample some of their favourites.

Arches of the Future: Seafront Set for Another £41m Boost

👷🏻‍♀️ Brighton & Hove's Cabinet meets Thursday to weigh up chipping in £4 million towards a £41 million bid to the Department for Transport, aiming to fix up 38 more seafront arches east of Shelter Hall — phases 6 and 7 of the ongoing A259 Seafront Arches Renewal Programme.

It follows the £22 million win earlier this year for phases 4 and 5, which start shortly around the bandstand and i360. Councillor Trevor Muten says the arches — supporting a road used by 25,000+ vehicles and 2,100 cyclists daily — are urgently in need of strengthening to avoid collapse. Businesses will face disruption but promised support. Three phases are already done, having delivered shops, toilets and Shelter Hall — with this next stage aiming to keep the seafront safe and thriving for a century to come.

Meter's Running: Taxi Drivers Push for Fare Hike

🚕 Brighton and Hove's cabmen say it's time the meter caught up with reality. A council report backs raising taxi fares, after the trade highlighted soaring fuel, insurance and "blue book" compliance costs — plus a slide from 14th to joint 38th in national fare rankings.

Proposals keep the £3 starting fare but clock up charges faster: 30p every 160 yards (down from 176) with shorter waiting time. Night fares rise to £4 from 9pm, £5 after midnight, with festive surcharges too.

The council says the new rates keep Brighton and Hove in line with Lewes and Worthing rather than an outlier. If cabinet approves it on Thursday, a public consultation follows before anything changes. If you’re at a loose end (and I mean really loose); tune into the webcast on Youtube at 10.30am this Thursday.