Photos show demolition at iconic Royal Albion Hotel: road can be used for Brighton Half Marathon

Photos sent to this newspaper show machinery removing the scaffolding on part of the building on Friday morning, February 28.

Further photos sent on Friday afternoon showed the site after the scaffolding removal was complete.

A notice on AA Traffic News at www.theaa.com/route-planner/traffic-news is still warning that the A259 Grand Junction Road is closed with a detour in operation. AA Traffic News said: “Road closed due to unsafe building at the Royal Albion hotel on A259 Grand Junction Road both ways between A23 (Palace Pier roundabout) and Queens Hotel. Detour in operation - North Road and Church Street. National Express are operating from near bus stop Z.”

Brighton & Hove City Council said that part of the road to the west of Brighton Palace Pier had to be temporarily closed with ‘immediate effect due to a safety risk’ on Saturday, February 22.

“Following the Royal Albion fire in summer 2023, part of the fire damaged section of the building still remains standing,” said a city council statement. “The council has received a report from a structural engineer working for the contractor on site that states that the structure and attached scaffolding is at risk of ‘catastrophic failure’.”

On Friday, the council said it is meeting regularly with contractors and is ‘confident in the progress made’ that Sunday’s Half Marathon can take place on its originally planned route.

The council said it has been reviewing Britannia Hotels’ and their contractors’ plans for reopening the A259 outside the hotel next week. They concluded, due to the position of the pedestrian island on the road outside the hotel, there is ‘insufficient space’ to install a contraflow that would allow traffic in both directions. The council said that from Monday, March 3, the two lanes on the south side of the road will be reopened to westbound traffic only. Eastbound traffic will continue to be diverted.

Councillor Trevor Muten, Cabinet member for Transport, Parking and Public Realm said: “I’m pleased work has progressed enough so we can safety open the road to be used for the Brighton Half Marathon. It’s a brilliant event for the city and I want to thank the organisers for their cooperation and understanding over the last week. Following the half marathon, the road will be reopened to westbound traffic.

“I know this ongoing inconvenience is frustrating for residents and businesses, but until the urgent demolition work has been carried out to make the structure safe we can’t open more of the road. We are continuing to push Britannia Hotels and their contractors to get both carriageways reopened as quickly as possible. We’ve been working closely with them and Historic England and the Health & Safety Executive to ensure public safety throughout.

"I want to thank residents, businesses and visitors for their understanding and patience as we work to restore access and get movement in the city centre back to normal.”

Royal Albion Hotel was devastated by a fire that broke out on Saturday, July 15, 2023.