Remaining Madeira Terrace masks removed for restoration work

Seven of the cast iron masks were removed in May this year after they became loose, sparking fears they could fall on someone.

Now, as volunteer groups prepare to clear the areas beneath the Madeira Terrace arches, Brighton and Hove City Council confirmed it will remove the remaining masks “as a further health and safety measure”.

The city council said in its planning application: “There are concerns about the integrity of the remaining masks and fittings that have remained in place.

“Should any of these masks fall there is a risk to anybody beneath at ground level as well as the potential damage to the decorative features.

Madeira Drive (Image: The Argus)

“The structural engineers who have inspected the arches annually for a number of years have told us that they haven’t been able to assess the condition of the fixings during the past inspections as these were either obscured by the masks in place to each side or were missing completely.

“Previously guttering has been removed from various parts of the arches, with any rainwater collecting on the mid-level terrace then running directly on the top of the masks and fixings that are in place which is thought to be the reason why the previous fixings degraded.”

The masks of Neptune and Venus will be removed, tagged and stored until they can be safely reinstated when future works to the structure are carried out, the city council said.

Permission was granted to remove the masks on October 12.

One of the masks (Image: The Argus)

READ MORE: Brighton Madeira Terrace restoration could be scaled back

It was announced last month that the first phase of the Madeira Terrace restoration could be scaled back in an effort to cut costs.

The number of arches set to be restored could be cut from 40 to 28 due to rising inflation, the city council said.

Repairs to the Royal Crescent steps have also been ruled out as part of the first phase of renovation in order to keep costs down.