LGBTQ+ coworking hub opens on Cheapside, with a free week on open days

Queer Edge, an LGBTQ+ collective from Hackney, is opening a permanent coworking space and events hub at Ironworks Studios on Cheapside, near Brighton station. It is the group’s first space outside East London. The desks open to friends and family on Wednesday 11 November.

By day there will be hot desks, office space and conference rooms, plus a green screen studio and a podcast studio. In the evenings the building will host club nights, live music, panel discussions and performances.

Paul Kemp, who owns Ironworks Studios, said in the launch announcement, as reported by the Brighton Journal²: “Brighton has a long and proud LGBTQ+ history, and it’s important we continue creating space where LGBTQ+ people can come together, not just to party but to get to know and support one another.”

The hub arrives in a year when The Queery, R-Bar and Charles Street Tap have all closed. In the 2021 Census, 11% of Brighton & Hove residents identified as LGBTQ+, the highest share of any upper-tier council area in England. The Brighton Journal and Gay London Life³ reported the opening this week.

Membership prices haven’t been published, and Queer Edge says details will follow on its social channels (@qe_brighton). For now, the way to try it is an open day. There are three, on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday next week. “Attend one of our open days to get a week of co-working, on us!” the Queer Edge Brighton¹ website says. Sign up there with an email address and choose a day. The offer is subject to terms and conditions.