Brighton road to remain partially closed after fire

The fire broke out on 15 July at the Royal Albion Hotel

A seafront road in central Brighton is unlikely to fully reopen for another fortnight following a hotel fire, a council has said.

The eastbound side of the A259 remains closed as the demolition of a section of the Royal Albion Hotel continues.

The hotel was badly damaged by a fire which broke out on 15 July.

The westbound side of the road was reopened on Thursday.

Donna Chisholm, the council’s executive director for the economy, environment and culture, said the eastbound side had to remain closed to allow heavy equipment to be moved out of the site.

Labour councillor David McGregor called for better communication with the public about when the road would be fully open again.

He said: “A lot of people are complaining about what’s happening and the timeline."

The seafront road will remain closed eastbound for a further two weeks

Ms Chisholm said the council did not have a clear timeline as debris was falling from the building which had partly collapsed.

A contractor started the work after Brighton & Hove City Council took control of the site to carry out safety and demolition work costing at least £500,000.

Councillors were told that money spent on demolition and making the site safe was expected to be claimed back from Britannia Hotels, owner of the Royal Albion.

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