Royal Albion Hotel Partial Demolition Continues

Brighton stands watching as much of a grand, but tired, hotel must be brought down to earth following a devastating fire.

Demolition of the ruined section of the Royal Albion Hotel, between the Old Steine and the seafront, continues while, according to the city council, the response team remain faced with complex challenges.

Visiting the site to see first-hand the response to the council’s ongoing response to the fire, Council Leader, Councillor Bella Sankey said:

"The scale, seriousness and complexity of the huge operation was astonishing.

"The ruined section of the hotel is dangerously unstable and the team are having to demolish a structure which is already in a state of collapse.

"It’s vital that people keep away from the area while the area is made safe and secure and that is also why some residents are unfortunately unable to return to their homes while the work continues. 

"However, I was really impressed by the professionalism and skill shown by the team on the ground in managing the demolition. 

"They have a plan in place to make sure they remove the sections that are the most vulnerable and unsafe while doing everything they can to salvage and scan heritage features.

"With a structure in such a perilous, ruined state there’s clearly many variables outside of our control, but I want to recognise their careful progress.  

"I’m also really sorry for the disruption that continues to be caused to the residents that were displaced from their homes and for people travelling across the city. 

"When the fire service evacuated local residents for the immediate area no-one could have known the impact of the devastation now unfolding and complexity of reluctantly demolishing parts of this heritage building."

Access to Property

According to Brighton and Hove City Council this afternoon (July 25), Royal Albion Hotel guests who need to collect their belongings should email royalalbionproperty@britanniahotels.com or call the hotel to confirm their details and arrange a pick-up time.

Unfortunately, for public safety reasons, the properties directly behind the Royal Albion Hotel will also remain inaccessible while this essential work takes place. 

If nearby residents displaced by the fire need information and advice then please call 01273 292000 where one of the city council's customer support team will co-ordinate the call and follow up with the relevant council team.   

Council chiefs also today told the media they were grateful to city residents, visitors and businesses for patience and understanding as work takes place.

Diversions 

Council officials were this afternoon continuing to asking people to avoid the area — road diversions remain in place.

Part of Kings Road (A259) between the Aquarium roundabout and East Street, as well as most of Pool Valley, has been fenced off due to the risk of falling debris during the demolition process. 

Madeira Drive and the Aquarium roundabout remain open.

Pool Valley and part of the A259 is expected to remain closed for the next 3 weeks — but officials hoped to open the A259 westbound next week (from 31 July).

Diversions will be in place and traffic should use alternative routes such as the A270 to avoid the area as much as possible. Diversion route signage will be installed.

The National Express bus service can be accessed from the nearby stop at the Old Steine (stop Z).

Demolition Process

To ensure the building is structurally safe, demolition of the damaged section of the building must take place. 

The city council's staff said this work will be noisy, but that teams will try hard to ensure this takes place as swiftly and as safely as possible and to minimise disruption to neighbouring properties and roads.

Barriers have been placed around the hotel to ensure a safe perimeter.

The on-site contractor will use a water suppression system during the works to minimise any dust that may be present and will continually assess the risk.

If residents or businesses in the area notice any dust or smoke in the air, official advice is to keep windows and doors closed.

East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service will continue to make regular visits to check on the structure and security will remain on site throughout.

Anyone spotting "excessive" smoke or flames coming from the building is asked to make a 999 call to the fire service.

Businesses outside of the exclusion zone can reopen but are advised to carry out their own risk assessments to ensure the safety of their staff and customers. 

East Sussex Fire & Rescue has served a prohibition notice on the hotel as there is no electricity in the building and the smoke alarms and emergency lighting are not functioning.