Funding for crumbling Madeira Arches “difficult to find”

11th December 2015

Funding for crumbling Madeira Arches “difficult to find”

Funding to repair the crumbling Madeira Arches will be difficult to find, according to council leader Warren Morgan.

The Victorian arches along the seafront east of the Palace Pier are in such disrepair that local businesses – in particular, JAG Gallery and Studio 284 – have been asked to close, with major repairs required to save the Concorde 2 long-term.

But despite being an iconic part of the Brighton seafront, local councillors say it will be difficult to attract the estimated £30m required to reconstruct the ageing structure as it's impossible to generate income from it.

This comes at a time of major redevelopment in the Brighton & Hove area, with a new arena/exhibition centre planned down the road at Black Rock, and a new outdoor swimming pool in the works across from the Madeira Arches themselves.

As culturally valuable as the arches are though, they do nothing to generate a discrete income themselves – any case to be made for their tourist value is tangential at best.

Added to the troubled seafront is the secrecy of the plans to rejuvenate the area. Simon Kirby, MP for Kemptown, has voiced his frustration over being kept out of the dark, citing his enforced ignorance of the plans as a further obstacle to attracting funding – if he had a concrete case to sell, he could join the fight to save the structures.

It would be a tragedy to lose the arches, and even worse for the area as a whole should they fall further into disrepair. But short of some very creative thinking, it's difficult to see how a business case – especially a demonstrable return on investment – can be made for restoring them to their former glory.

Testimonials

  • All very professional, kept updated throughout. Very pleased - Would recommend. 

    Mrs Hammond Hove

  • Graham Griffin provided us, and continues to provide us, will all-round excellent advice. We trust his knowledge and expertise.

    Mr Blackmore & Ms O'Sullivan Financial Services

  • Very happy with the service we got from you guys, everyone we dealt with was extremely friendly, professional and helpful. Thanks!

    Mr Brown Titian Road

  • Sharon was amazing! She kept us up to date the whole way through the process. We cannot fault Sharon or the rest of her team. 

    Mr & Mrs Ashley Woodingdean

  • I wish we had used you to sell our property! Nice to meet honest people, who are genuinely interested in helping. Very pleased.

    Mrs Porter Taunton Road

  • Thank you. We found all the staff knowledgeable and really pleasant to deal with. 

    Ms Ansloos Lewes Road

  • Excellent Service from start to finish.

    Mr T Mole Cromwell Road

  • Fantastic service. By far the best agents we have ever used, I cannot recommend you highly enough.

    Mr Field Mafeking Road

  • Very professional service. Thank you!

    Miss New & Mr Jackson Buller Road

  • Superb service as usual, I would always recommend you.

    Ms S Hike Blackthorn Close

  • Service exceeded my expectations overall at all stages of the process - I wouldn't hesitate to recommend you. Thanks. 

    Ms Greene Lewes Road

  • Sharon was excellent - kept us well informed, thank you so much!

    Ms Waters Cowley Drive

  • Many thanks to Nick. It was an easy process thanks to you! I'm extremely satisfied with how the sale went, great job.

    Ms Mayanobe Aymer Road

  • You were amazingly helpful throughout - a real pillar of strength with a very difficult sale.

    Mrs Parkin Fiveways

  • All agents at Maslen were extremely helpful and polite from the beginning to the completion of sale. 

    Mr Johnson Fiveways

  • I was new to the area and viewed a lot of properties with a lot of different agents. Maslens were by far the best I came in contact with, so when i...

    Mr & Mrs Heer Lewes Road

  • I would recommend Maslen to anyone. 

    Mrs Tripp Woodingdean

  • Harvey was helpful and easily reachable at the beginning of the process and Sharon kept us informed and was always happy to help.

    Ms Murch & Ms Mapa Ticehurst Road

  • Very pleased with the excellent service throughout. Professional, friendly, efficient and no hard sell. Achieved above asking price. Thank you!

    Mr Witten Lewes Road

  • Ben and Paula were calm and reassuring throughout a very difficult process!

    Ms Easterbrook Bear Road

  • I found the service to be courteous, friendly and efficient.

    Mr Upton Buller Road

  • The whole team were excellent, each one of them felt like family. Sharon had a lot of sorting to do at times but coped very well, a true profession...

    Mr Vernon Woodingdean

  • Paula was absolutely amazing!

    Mr & Mrs MacKay Lewes Road

  • Compared to your rivals, your service was excellent

    Ms McGrigor Milner Road

  • Best Agents in Brighton.

    Mrs Field Tarner Road

  • Our local office manager, Sharon Wareham was warm and friendly and kept us up to date at all times.

    Mr Hope The Brow

  • Hugely impressed with Ben & his team.

    Mrs Mead Upper Lewes Road

  • It was an amazing experience, everyone involved were fantastic. 

    Mr & Mrs Knight Woodingdean

  • Sold within 2 weeks for asking price "excellent!"

    Mr Grundy Bishops Road

  • Very impressed with all dealings with Maslen. Paula Carter was in particular very knowledgeable and helpful. 

    Mr McBlane Hove

  • An efficient, professional and friendly service. Helpful and a pleasure to do business with.

    Mr Beddington Brading Road

  • We were very impressed with the Nick from start to finish. 

    Mr & Mrs Smith Lewes Road

  • We were very pleased with services provided by the Fiveways office.

    Mr & Mrs Sawyer Shaftesbury Road

  • Very thorough & very informative.

    Mr Michnowicz Waldegrave Road

  • Very pleased with the experience. I would definitely recommend you and use you again.

    Ms D Edmonds Horton Road

  • A really good experience.

    Mr Tibble Lewes Road

  • Very comprehensive and professional. Nice people to work with and highly recommended. 

    Mr Alderton Ladysmith Road

  • Paula is amazing!

    Ms Aspnall Gladstone Place

  • The staff were very helpful, an excellent service. I would recommend you to others.

    Miss Hockly Fiveways

  • Excellent customer service throughout. I will definitely recommend you, and use you again. Thank you.

    Ms Longley Kingsbury Street

  • Paul Wilkinson was extremely helpful and efficient. The only problem was the vendors solicitor and Paul warned me of this. A good transaction all r...

    Mr Lavender Fiveways

  • Very impressive - professional and friendly, both Martin Timms and Paula Carter were excellent at keeping in contact with sensible advice based on...

    Mrs O'Connor Hove

  • Cannot express our appreciation enough of all the efforts made by the Woodingdean team - they were fantastic.

    Mr John Mogridge Woodingdean

  • Thank you for everything!

    Ms Tucker Willow Close

  • Paula's role was brilliant. Having someone office based and available was so appreciated and her promptness an impressive service - every Estate Agent...

    Ms Wynn-Jones Baxter Street

  • Excellent service from the Lewes Road branch. Martin Timms secured a quick sale & at a good price & Paula Carter worked really hard to secure...

    Ms Schulte Bear Road

  • Quality advice about when and how to sell, which was spot on. Thank you.

    Miss Coleman Buller Road

  • First class service. Friendly and professional.

    Mr Thorne The Avenue

  • A very committed team who made the sale process very easy.

    Ms Rees Ticehurst Road

  • A very positive experience - I had most contact with the Fiveways office and they were so friendly and helpful.

    Ms A King Balfour Road

  • The Woodingdean team were very friendly and approachable.

    Mrs Palmer Pitt Gardens

  • Very good service and communication. Paula was excellent.

    Mr & Mrs Scarboro 1 Pevensey Road

  • Extremely efficient. Nick and Paula are excellent. The weekly phone calls were much appreciated. 

    Ms Gray Lewes Road

  • Maslens as a whole were really friendly and professional. I have to thank and congratulate Paula Carter for being superb at her job and exceeding m...

    Ms Warren Hove

  • I have bought and sold 7 properties, and this was the best experience of an estate agents services I have found.

    Mrs Shepherd Hertford Road

  • Brilliant. Well done to Sharon and the Woodingdean team.

    Ms Curtis The Ridgway

  • Thanks for an excellent service. 

    Mr King Hove

  • Very, very happy we chose you, felt right from the start! Thank you!

    Miss Blackadder Coniston Court, Holland Road

  • The team worked very hard over a long period to ensure my sale went through - excellent service!

    Mr Patrick Gladstone Terrace

  • A completely painless experience from start to finish. Thank you.

    Mr Woolven & Mrs Bessant-Woolven Lewes Road

  • Very pleased with the service. Many thanks to Sharon and the boys!

    Mr Flynn Woodingdean

  • Thanks David, all very professional.

    Mrs Flowers Foxdown Road

  • Very impressed with the service. Sharon Wareham works tirelessly, very professionally and is always there for advice. 

    Miss Matthews Kipling Avenue

  • Paula was fabulous and we felt really informed and supported. 

    Mr & Mrs Walker Lewes Road

  • Exceptional service throughout the process - should we decide to sell in the future we wouldn't hesitate to use your agency. You're a cut above the...

    Ms Windels & Mr Barham Fiveways

  • Thank you Maslens, you were all excellent!

    Miss Jasper Taunton Road

  • Sharon, Harvey and James were all excellent - very professional. Totally opposite to what I have experienced with other agents. Maslen have restore...

    Ms Lyons Woodingdean

  • Very helpful and patient team.

    Mrs Shea Selborne Place

  • Excellent service as always

    Mr Field Ringmer Road

  • Already recommended you! Thank you.

    Mr Edwards The Ridgway

  • The sale was dealt with swiftly, professionally and successfully. Thank you Maslen!

    Mrs Lincoln Hove

  • All the staff I dealt with were excellent. Sharon worked really hard to complete the sale.

    Mrs Bent Falmer Gardens

  • Good team. Straightforward. No nonsense.

    Mr Standing Newmarket Road

  • We cannot recommend Maslen's estate agents enough.

    Many thanks to Paul, Donna, Janette and the...

    Linda & Les Wigmore Close

  • Outstanding service from Sharon. James is an asset to Maslens & Harvey was so helpful and polite.

    Ms Cianchetta Selhurst Road

  • Very impressed with the efficient and friendly service, the staff were a pleasure to deal with. 

    Mr & Mrs Gill Lewes Road

  • The whole team were very committed from start to finish.

    Mr Pilgrim Lewes Road

  • From start to finish the sale was dealt with in a thoroughly professional manner.  

    Mr Gibbs Lewes Road

  • Please thank Paula at Lewes Road - Excellent service. 

    Mr & Mrs Nuthall Lewes Road

  • Great service, always polite and friendly. Excellent contact and info all the way.

    Mr Wells Bishops Road

  • We were delighted with the service received from all the staff with whom we had contact,

    Dr Crichton The Ridgway

  • Sharon and her team could not have done more in what was a difficult sale. 

    Ms Daly Woodingdean

  • Thank you Paul and Archie, you gave an excellent service, as well as Kelly. I look forward to working with you again. 

    Mr White Fiveways

  • Best Estate Agents ever experienced - professional, approachable, competent and exemplary. 

    Mr & Mrs Guest Riley Road

  • Nick and Paula are total stars! They were incredibly supportive and present throughout. Thank you!

    Miss O'Haire Hove

  • First class service from a first class team.

    Mr & Mrs English The Ridgway

  • In February 2016 I was looking to buy and sell very rapidly. Competition among buyers at the time was very high. Sharon @ the Woodingdean branch sh...

    Ms Helen Lyons Woodingdean

  • Ben was particularly enthusiastic and helpful. Martin, Paula, Sam and Will are all hard workers.

    Ms Goodey Franklin Road

  • It was a long, drawn out process that the people at Maslen helped me through, without the impression that it was a chore. So extremely professional...

    Mr McLagan Lewes Road

  • Excellent communication and advice throughout. It felt very reassuring to be in good hands.

    Mrs Brooker Buller Road

  • As always, an excellent service. 

    Mr & Mrs Field Lewes Road

  • Paul was absolutely brilliant. 

    Mrs Tasker Fiveways

  • A good team at Woodingdean helped us through a stressful time.

    Mr & Mrs Penton Sycamore Close

  • Sharon was excellent, she kept us informed at all stages and was a really calming objective influence in the process.

    Ms Frederick Channel View Road

See All »