Fears over city bandstand revamp

The cast iron seafront landmark dates from 1884

Campaigners are calling for a piece of Sussex history to be returned to its former glory sooner rather than later.

Brighton and Hove City Council announced in July that work to restore the derelict bandstand on the seafront could get under way in spring 2008.

But a campaign group fears the crumbling Victorian structure will not survive the winter.

The council has earmarked £850,000 for the work on the structure, which dates from 1884.

It said the work could not start until next spring when the legal tendering process had finished.

Urgent repairs

Patricia Horne, of the Save Brighton Bandstand Campaign, said: "Look at it. It's derelict, it's ugly, its rundown.

"It's rusty and the wood is rotten, the iron is practically melting in the sun or rotting off with rust in the winter. It is awful."

She wants the council to start urgent repairs to make sure the structure does not get any worse over the winter.

"We want it started late summer into autumn, and over winter. And we want it finished off by the spring, and we want it in action again.

"We want to see bands there," Ms Horne said.

Speaking earlier this month, councillor Mary Mears said the council had decided to pay for the repairs instead of applying for a lottery grant to speed up the restoration process.

She added: "Though so much has been spent on the rest of the seafront this bandstand remains the eyesore on the cake. We believe people see this as a priority and therefore we should use funding set aside for priorities.

"The HLF [Heritage Lottery Fund] has been brilliant with other projects in the city. But a bid to them is a lengthy and uncertain process and each passing week the structure worsens."