Following parts of the main seafront road becoming unsafe the route for this Sundays’s March for England has been slightly ammended.
The A259 eastbound at the junction with West Street was closed around 8am on Friday (April 25) due to the collapse of a roof of the Fortune of War pub in the King’s Road arches. The collapse has led to a weakness in the eastbound carriageway. Workman discovered the fault and the road was closed while structural engineers assessed the situation.
Structural engineers have now assessed the road and the eastbound carriageway will remain closed for the next few weeks.
The march was due to start at the junction of West Street and the A259, where the fault in the road appeared. The march will now start at the A259 junction with Middle Street.
There have been no changes to any of the conditions placed on those wishing to assemble to protest against the march. However, there have been slight variations made to the notices issued for assembly of the march and the conditions on it.
The section 14 notice for the assembly for the March for England states: ‘The March for England and those associated will assemble on the eastbound carriageway of the A259, Kings Road between the west most edge of the junction of the A259, Kings Road and Middle Street, and the west most edge of the A259, Kings Road and Ship St. The assembly will be confined to the road between the kerb lines to the north and centre line of the carriageway.
The march itself will follow the same route with the slightly amended starting point. The conditions issued under section 12 of the act state: “Using only the eastbound carriageway of the A259, Kings Road the procession will move eastbound along the A259 Kings Road. The procession will move no further east than the junction of Pool Valley and the A259, Kings Road. The procession will then return by the same route.”
The section 14 notice for those wishing to protest against the march remains the same and states: “Those wishing to assemble in order to protest against the March for England shall only do at the promenade to the south of the A259, Kings Road, between the pedestrian crossing at the eastern side of the junction of the A259, Kings Road and Black Lion Street to the pedestrian crossing at the western side of the junction of the A259, Kings Road and East Street.”
Superintendent Steve Whitton, said: “We have been working with the council and their engineers to assess the structure of the road and have decided to move the start of the march further eastwards on the A259.
“The march will now start at the A259 junction with Middle Street. They will then march east to the junction of Pool Valley and back again. It will still start no earlier than 12.30pm and finish no later than 1.30pm.
“Our focus is, as always, keeping people safe and we have worked with the council to make sure people taking part in both the march and the counter protest, as well as visitors to the city, are kept safe. For this reason the eastbound carriageway will be completely closed at West Street.
“It is really important people understand that the carriageway is closed for safety reasons and they should not enter the area which is cordoned off under any circumstances.
“Please talk to our officers, who will be very visible in the city, if you have any concerns.”
Executive Director Geoff Raw from Brighton and Hove City Council, added: “Structural engineers will be working over the weekend to assess the extent of the problem and which seems to have been caused by historic alterations to premises in the arches. We’re working as swiftly as possible with the police and key partners to ensure public safety and to keep the traffic moving as smoothly as possible. A contra flow system is now in place between Middle Street and West Street, please allow extra time for journeys through this area and check the council website for updates.”
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