• Conservatives announce Budget proposals to save four City icons from ruin
• £11.8 million to turbo charge Madeira Terraces restoration; Saltdean Lido to be restored
• New accessible carriage for Volk’s Railway and famous seafront railings and shelters to be restored under Conservative plans to boost heritage and tourism

The Conservatives have today outlined a plan to save four of our City’s ‘jewels in the Crown’ from ruin at next week’s City Budget as part of its vision to boost tourism for a post Covid-recovery.

Work would be able to get underway immediately on restoration of Madeira Terraces, Saltdean Lido, Volk’s Railway and Seafront railings & shelters if the Conservative proposals are agreed to.

Conservative Finance Spokesperson Joe Miller has identified enough savings to fund the package and will put the plan to a full Budget Council meeting at Brighton & Hove City Council next Thursday.

The Conservative proposals include:

• Restoration of Madeira Terraces with an £11.8 million boost – enough to immediately fund the next two phases.
• Saltdean Lido restoration - £1.65 million to start work on restoring this iconic and much-loved facility in the east of the City.
• Volk’s Electric Railway upgrade – £500,000 for a new accessible carriage for the railway to ensure all visitors to the City are able to enjoy the attraction, as outlined in the business case
• Seafront railings and shelters restoration – £500,000 to restore seafront railing and refurbish seafront shelters.

Conservative Finance Spokesperson Joe Miller said that he wanted to see his amendments supported at next week’s Budget so that work could get underway immediately on restoring the City’s heritage.

“Residents, heritage associations and the tourism sector want to see action from this council to restore our dilapidated heritage” Cllr Miller said.

“Our iconic heritage sites have been left to decay for too long and our tourism sector is beginning to suffer.

“These proposals are all funded from savings identified in the Budget and build on our proposals already announced.

There is no reason why we cannot get moving on these projects immediately.  They would provide a focus for the City post-Covid, restore civic pride and create jobs.  All they require is the support of the Council at next Thursday’s Budget.

Councillor Joe Miller’s Conservative Budget Amendments to restore the City’s heritage:

1. To take advantage of the lower interest rates available to the council and utilise the £0.200m recurrent funding set aside to finance borrowing to support the Madeira Terrace in 2021/22, increasing the borrowing from £4.3m to £5.6m.

• Capitalise the £0.074m recurrent funding for the Madeira Terrace Project Manager post included in the Corporate Plan Investment table utilising the capital resources already identified for Madeira Terrace, and use the £0.074m recurrent funding to support a further £2.1m capital investment for the Madeira Terrace project.
• The £0.100m Investment to provide a focused Race Education Strategy and delivery as shown in the Corporate Plan Investments table, is supported by a 5-year plan. It is proposed to redirect these recurrent resources after year 5 (2026/27) to provide recurrent financing costs to support £2.8m investment in Madeira Terraces from 2026/27. 

2. Redirect the £0.200m recurrent funding to support the Sustainable Carbon Reduction Initiative Fund (SCRIF) and the £0.200m recurrent funding to support the expansion of the Warmer Homes Initiative as set out in the Corporate plan Investment table, and reallocate as follows: -

• Provide £0.100m capital investment for the upgrade and refurbishment of seafront shelters. This will require £0.011m recurrent funding for the financing costs,
• Provide £0.500m capital investment to support the purchase of a disabled access carriage for the Volks Railway. This will require £0.030m recurrent funding for the financing costs.
• Provide £0.400m capital investment for seafront railings refurbishment or replacement. This will require £0.020m recurrent funding for the financing costs.
• Provide a further £1.650m capital resources to support the Saltdean Lido renovation. This will require £0.059m recurrent funding for the financing costs.
• Provide a further £5.6m capital resources to fund future phases of the Madeira Terraces refurbishment. This will require £0.200m recurrent funding for the financing costs.

ENDS.