A MAN was so moved by a leaflet telling of the demise of Madeira Terrace that he wrote a £9,000 cheque for its redevelopment.

His cash has pushed Brighton and Hove City Council’s Save Madeira Terrace Crowdfunder beyond 80 per cent of its target.

In fact, a flurry of sizeable pledges have put the £423,459 target tantalisingly within reach with just two weeks until the deadline.

Raymond Brill, of Brighton, received one of thousands of Save Our Terraces leaflets printed by the council and distributed to households.

He was so emotionally about the proposal he sent a personal cheque to the headquarters of Visit Brighton, which added the amount to its online SpaceHive Crowdfunder account.

Several big donations have followed over the last two days.

An online pledge for £10,000 on Wednesday, from a Mark Henry, has equalled the largest personal pledge of the campaign so far.

Brighton Marathon firm The Grounded Events Company has added £8,000, Landsec developers have promised £15,000 and events catering company Crown Partnership have added another £5,000.

Just last night a further £5,000 was pledged by Cheesmur Building Contractors, based in Lewes.

VisitBrighton head Howard Barden said last night: “We’re definitely going to do it now.

“We’re feeling really really good about this.

“I think what it shows is the city has really got behind this - everyone from business to heritage groups to individual residents.

“Now it’s crucial to keep momentum over the last two weeks.”

The Save Madeira Terraces online crowdfunding campaign, which the council launched in July, now has pledges totalling almost £350,000.

More than 1,600 people have pledged donations, including an initial pledge of £100,000 from the council and three lots of £25,000 from developers U+I, PMC Construction and Brunswick Developments at Brighton Marina.

The Regency Society of Brighton and Hove has also pledged £10,000.

The full cost of restoration of the Terraces, which have been crumbling into decline for decades, is estimated at around £24 million.

This public crowdfunding campaign is intended to be a proof-of-concept idea which will also go towards funding the restoration of three of the arches.

It could also strengthen the council’s hand when appealing for national funding.

The council failed in a bid earlier in the year to gain funding for the project from the Coastal Communities Fund.