Taxpayer still owed £1.7m over Brighton hotel fire almost two years later
The Royal Albion Hotel in Brighton was devastated by a fire in July 2023, which led to part of the building being demolished.
Britannia Hotels, which owns the site, is responsible for the cost of demolition which has, so far, cost the local authority £1.7 million.
Councillor Bella Sankey, leader of Brighton and Hove City Council, said: 'The cost to the council of the partial demolition of the Royal Albion following the fire was £1.7 million and, unacceptably, we have yet to receive any money from Britannia's insurance company.
'The council acted decisively in the immediate aftermath of the fire because the structure was dangerously unstable and in a state of collapse, but it is not right that this cost should be met by the taxpayer.
'This is a cost which must be met by Britannia.'
She added: 'We are determined the entire money will be repaid to the council and are taking steps to make sure this happens.'
The Argus reported that demolition is set to take place 28 February and 1 March to deal with the part of the building at risk of collapse.
Road closures around the property have been in place for several days and are having a significant impact on traffic in the city and local businesses.
David Roy, owner of Petit Pois restaurant, told BBC News that customers ended up being late for reservations, taking time out of their two-hour table allocation, or ended up cancelling because they could not get there.
'Everybody's stressed,' he said. 'It's not the best experience. We don't want that for the customers.'
Organisers of the Brighton Half Marathon, which is set to take place this Sunday – and which would usually go down part of the road that is currently closed – are said to be working closely with local authorities and would update competitors should the route change.
Councillor Trevor Muten, the council's cabinet member for transport, parking and public realm, apologised for disruption caused by the closure.
He said: 'We have impressed upon Britannia that they need to move at pace, resolve this and we need to open this road as soon as possible.'
Britannia Hotels owns over 63 budget hotels across the UK.
The company, which was founded in 1976, is also the parent company behind Pontins Holiday Parks.
It was named the worst hotel chain in the UK for the 11th year in a row in 2023, according to an annual survey by Which?.
on behalf of the government.
A 2024 investigation by Byline Times found that the company made nearly £40 million in profits for the year to March 2023.
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For more than a decade, Britannia Hotels earned a dubious distinction. In annual surveys by consumer group Which?, it repeatedly emerged as the UK's worst hotel chain. In 2023, it achieved this honour for the 11th year running, with complaints ranging from cleanliness and room quality to customer service issues. Yet the man behind the business hasn't done too badly. Alex Langsam, who founded the chain nearly 40 years ago and remains its chief executive to this day, was estimated to be worth £401m in this year's Sunday Times Rich List. The 87-year-old's wealth has been bolstered in recent years by the Government's use of his hotels to accommodate asylum seekers via lucrative taxpayer-funded contracts. In fact, his empire of more than 60 sites has become so well-known as a go-to chain for migrant accommodation that Langsam himself has been dubbed the 'asylum king'. 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