Brighton fire hotel demolition refused by council

An application to demolish part of the Royal Albion Hotel on Brighton seafront has been refused.

The retrospective application was submitted to Brighton and Hove City Council, East Sussex, in June, two years after fire ravaged the property.

A report published on Monday said the application had been rejected because there were no plans for a replacement and it would cause "substantial harm" to the city's heritage.

The site's owner Britannia Hotels has been approached for comment.

The report said: "The proposal involves the demolition of a grade II listed building within the Valley Gardens Conservation Area and, with no plans for a replacement development, results in substantial harm to heritage assets and their setting and creates an unsightly and prominent gap in a highly visible location.

"In addition, insufficient information or records have been provided to enable a full assessment of the significance of the historic features of the building."

The council gave a second reason for refusal – the loss of a hotel in Brighton and Hove's "hotel core zone", reports the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The council's heritage team accepted that the Lion Mansion Hotel portion of the building had been demolished for safety reasons, but were concerned the application made no mention of architectural features that had been saved.

It also said: "Historic England has also raised concerns about the lack of a replacement scheme and confirmed they will not be 'delisting' the hotel."

The fire broke out on 15 July 2023 and destroyed much of the oldest part of the building.

Part of the premises had to be demolished so firefighters could reach the blaze which destroyed the five-storey building to the basement.

The council stepped in to ensure that the A259 could reopen safely and as soon as possible, but the road was closed in February following warnings the scaffolding and part of the remaining structure were at risk of collapse.

A report in Britannia's application said what remained in February this year was in "poor condition".

The report, by Structural Surveys, said "even a modest wind" could cause further cracking to the remaining three-storey wall.

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