Brighton road reopens outside fire-ravaged hotel

A stretch of the busy seafront road in Brighton has fully re-opened again almost a fortnight after it closed over fears of a "catastrophic collapse" of a building.

The Royal Albion Hotel was partially destroyed in July 2023 in a fire, believed to have been caused by a discarded cigarette.

Then last month the road was closed with immediate effect after an engineering report warned the hotel and its scaffolding were at risk of collapse, before reopening to westbound traffic on Monday.

The city council said following "positive discussions with contractors" working for the owners, Britannia Hotels, the road fully re-opened on Thursday afternoon.

The closure of the stretch of road, opposite Brighton's Palace Pier, has had a major impact on journeys with knock-on traffic jams spreading on all city centre routes.

Councillor Trevor Muten apologised for the inconvenience but said "the safety of the public had to be our number one priority".

The cabinet member for transport said the council has stressed the urgency for action" to the owners, Britannia Hotels, to get the road re-opened.

He also warned the road may need to be closed again at a later date to allow for more demolition work.

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