Brighton seafront road to remain closed amid hotel safety fears
The stretch of the A259 has been shut to traffic since Friday night (February 21st)
Last updated 25th Feb 2025
A key Brighton seafront road will remain closed for 'the next couple of days' as concerns remain over the structural integrity of a fire-damaged hotel.
The A259 Kings Road was first closed on Friday evening (February 21st) after a structural report found the Royal Albion Hotel was at risk of 'catastrophic failure'.
The listed building was ravaged by a fire in July 2023, believed to have been started by a discarded cigarette.
Brighton and Hove City Council has urged the owner of the hotel, Britannia Hotels, to carry out urgent strengthening work on the remains of the building to protect the public and allow the stretch to be re-opened once again.
Councillor Trevor Muten, Cabinet member for Transport, Parking and Public Realm at Brighton and Hove City Council, said:
"The A259 King’s Road remains closed between Aquarium roundabout and East Street in both directions to traffic and will be so for at least the next couple of days. The pavement and cycle lanes to the south of the road remain open.
"Our priority remains the safety of the public, but we recognise and apologise for the inconvenience and delays the closure is causing. We thank people for their continued patience.
"We’re doing everything we can to support Britannia Hotels and their contractor to get this work done quickly so we can reopen the road as soon as possible. We have also asked them to add additional signage to reduce traffic leading up to the road closure.
"We continue to stress to Britannia Hotels the urgency of the situation.
"The council is speaking regularly with organisers of the Brighton Half Marathon to keep them updated."