Following the Royal Albion Hotel fire on Saturday, July 15, Brighton & Hove City Council has announced the priority is to now make the structure safe.
East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, which attended the site overnight on Monday, July 17 to put out some smaller fires and reduce the chance of further re-ignition, will continue to make regular visits overnight on Tuesday, July 18 to check on the structure.
According to the council, these fires have caused a delay to the demolition of the damaged part of the hotel. This is now expected to start on Wednesday, July 19 and is likely to take two – three weeks.
Councillor Bella Sankey, leader of Brighton & Hove City Council, said: “As we move from an emergency response to a recovery phase, our priority is to make sure the area is safe.
“This does mean there will continue to be significant disruption to the area.
“Thank you to our residents, visitors and businesses for their patience and understanding while this important work takes place.”
To ensure the building is structurally safe, the city council has announced that demolition of the damaged section of the building is required.
Councillor Bella Sankey added: “The demolition of part of the Royal Albion Hotel has been delayed until Wednesday, July 18 on health and safety grounds.
“We of course want to save as much of this iconic, heritage building as possible and have tasked our contractors to do this.
“As many original features as possible will be set aside for reuse or for moulds / copying.
“A 3D scan of the whole exterior of the building has been carried out, and we will be taking photos regularly to hopefully allow us to replicate the original features.
“We are in contact with Historic England and will continue to work closely with them.”
