The Brighton & Hove Wrap - Friday 28th February
Albion Hotel demolition, school catchment areas latest + local artists exhibition
💥 Demolition of the Royal Albion Hotel on Old Steine, Brighton, began on Thursday (27th). Here are The Argus’ live updates of the work in progress.
➡ The hotel, which was partially destroyed by a fire in 2023, was deemed at risk of collapse and part of the A259 was closed by the council on Friday (21st).
➡ (And you don’t need me to tell you…) It’s been causing some traffic issues in the city centre.
🎽 Despite the disruption, according to Brighton and Hove News, the Brighton Half Marathon will go ahead this Sunday (2nd) and the southern part of the A259 should reopen on Monday morning. Here’s a map of the route.
➡ GScene has a list of some familiar faces running for the Sussex Beacon.
🌱 Residents can now opt out of the council using weedkiller on their street, writes Brighton and Hove News. The catch? You’ll need to band together with neighbours to clear weeds yourself.
🎨 You’ve got until Sunday (2nd March) to see an exhibition of 40 local artists on display at the Fishing Quarter Gallery on Brighton seafront:
🏫 Live coverage yesterday from local democracy reporter Sarah Booker-Lewis of a special council meeting on secondary school admissions in Brighton & Hove.
➡ The meeting comes ahead of a vote on moving most of Whitehawk and Manor Farm into the catchment areas for Dorothy Stringer and Varndean School, while children in Kemptown would move into the Longhill catchment. It follows a campaign by the group Class Divide to tackle inequality in education.
👷♀️ The Argus has an update on the restoration work on Madeira Terrace, including photos and an interview with the team behind the project.
➡ “A key part of the project includes the installation of a new lift, connecting pedestrians from the A259 to the seafront.”
➡ Here are the full details on phase one, which stretches from the Royal Crescent to Concorde 2.
🖌 Three new exhibitions open at Phoenix Art Space this weekend (1st March).
🏥 The number of patient deaths being investigated by Sussex Police as possible manslaughter at the Royal Sussex County Hospital between 2015 and 2021 has risen from 40 to 90, according to reporting from The Guardian.
➡ The investigation into alleged malpractice at the hospital is also covered in this story from the BBC about a woman who had two operations in a day.
📚 Jubilee Library in Brighton celebrates 20 years this week. There’s an exhibition in the foyer to mark the anniversary of the library, which opened on 3rd March 2005.
🎼 The Latest has an interview with Silvio Grasso, the co-founder of Brighton Gay Men’s Chorus as the choir makes plans to celebrate its 20th birthday too:
💡 More than 80 Grade II listed lamposts on the city’s seafront will be restored this spring, according to the council.
🏉 Tickets for the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 are now on sale with two matches taking place at the AMEX in September.
🎾 The new floodlights at Dyke Park Tennis Club are officially opening tonight (Friday 28th) and comedian Joe Wilkinson will be on hand to do the honours:
