The council convened an emergency meeting with GTR and emergency services partners on Wednesday, August 2 to discuss a compromise solution which would ensure that some trains would run in and out of the city for most of Saturday, August 5.
A further meeting was scheduled for Thursday, August 3 but called off, when GTR confirmed to the council, Pride and others late on Wednesday, August 2 that they were sticking to their original decision.
With Brighton & Hove’s annual Pride celebrations going ahead this weekend, Bella Sankey, leader of Brighton & Hove City Council, says the decision will effectively leave the city cut-off and anger thousands of people.
“This is an extremely disappointing decision from GTR that will negatively impact all those wanting to participate in the country’s foremost Pride celebrations.
“In my view, and based on the data provided by Pride organisers, a workable and safe solution could have been found by a company tasked with providing an essential public service to our city.
“GTR have failed in their most basic function as a train company and they have also mismanaged the process.
“The impact on the public of this failure to provide a service seems to come very far down the list of what is important to GTR. They must now reflect and ensure this unacceptable situation never happens again.
“Our priority now is now to work with our excellent emergency services and all those involved in facilitating Pride to support the event and seek to address the many issues and increased costs GTR’s flawed decision raises.
“Pride will go ahead this weekend and it’ll be as spectacular as ever. We hope those who can attend enjoy celebrating our LGBTQ+ community and have a wonderful weekend in our city.”