North Street, Brighton: Dangerous Structure Still Forcing Closure

A normally busy street in central Brighton is due to remain closed until at least Friday (April 12), the city council said, as a dangerous structure is made safe.

Building work is set to continue at the corner of North Street and Queen's Road, as attempts are made to secure the roof above a branch of Boots.

Brighton and Hove City Council said traffic has been diverted along the sea front and through North Laine.

Councillor Trevor Muten, chair of the Transport and Sustainability Committee, said:

"The strong winds during Storm Kathleen earlier this week have caused damage to Boots roof requiring the closure of North Street in order to undertake urgent repairs.

"We wish to thank residents and businesses for their continued cooperation and patience while this is underway.

"We’ve stressed to Boots the urgency of these repairs and of re-opening the roads affected for pedestrians, bus passengers and businesses.”

Local authority staff have added that there is a "real and serious hazard" of detached materials falling onto the road below.

The council says the risk of materials becoming detached and falling onto the road below is a “very real and serious hazard” to pedestrians and vehicles.

On behalf of Brighton and Hove Buses, commercial director Nick Hill added:

"North Street is the most used street on our network, with around 200 busy buses passing through each hour, and it is important to us to keep them running and thus keep more cars off the road.

"We currently have a number of diversions in place and we are monitoring traffic flow and making alterations where necessary to keep services moving while the works continue.

"Passengers can keep updated on these via our app and our website: buses.co.uk."

From photographer Eddie Mitchell, we have this footage of the scene in North Street today.