A GOVERNMENT minister will have two invites to see the Madeira Drive arches sitting on his desk when he returns from holiday this week.

Two of the city’s MPs have extended an invite to coastal communities minister Mark Francois to see the state of the dilapidated arches for himself.

Green MP Caroline Lucas told The Argus she issued an invite to the Rayleigh and Wickford MP earlier this month after reading in this paper that no one had invited him down.

She said Government funding could “make all the difference” in rejuvenating the arches.

Conservative MP Simon Kirby has also invited the minister down to the seafront “as soon as possible” but with Mr Francois away on holiday last week, his office said they are still awaiting a response.

Mr Francois told The Argus earlier this month that the city council might want to consider bidding for £90 million of Coastal Community Funding which will come available later this year.

The bill to replace the seafront Victorian arches, which have fallen into such a state of disrepair they can no longer be patched up, is estimated to be around £30 million.

JAG art gallery and Studio 284 rehearsal space have both been told they will have to leave their current homes under the arches because of structural concerns while further studies will be carried out on music venue Concorde 2 which remains open.

Council leader Warren Morgan wrote in The Argus on Saturday that a plan for the area’s revival will be outlined within the next 100 days.

Ms Lucas said: "Having learned that no-one had yet invited the minister to visit, I issued my own invitation, and I know Simon Kirby has now also made a similar offer.

“It’s crucial that the minister sees for himself the serious issues facing our historic seafront.

"I have no doubt that Mr Francois will be as concerned as I am that such a prized asset for our city has fallen into such severe disrepair and I’ll be urging him for Government assistance to help bring this vital asset to Brighton back to life.

“Help from the Coastal Communities Fund and the Coastal Revival Fund could make all the difference in rejuvenating the arches.

“I’m looking forward to working with the other local MPs, the council and Mark Francois to ensure that this serious issues gets the attention it deserves.”