RESTORATION work on a seafront landmark is due to be completed by the end of the year.

Work began on Shelter Hall at the bottom of West Street, Brighton, in 2015 as part of the city council’s seafront investment programme.

This also involved a restructuring of the promenade between the hall’s rotunda and the beach.

While Shelter Hall is nearing completion, any businesses moving in are unlikely to be up and running before spring next year.

Mike Crowley, 59, who was visiting from Wales with his family for a long weekend, was complimentary about the work.

He said. “It’s definitely good to see the seafront grow and develop.

“It’s come on a lot since I last came to visit.”

Mr Crowley, a retired tradesman from Newport, was watching the crew at work on the side of the hall.

He said: “They are working at a steady pace.

“The brick laying looks like it’s good quality and it will look great when it’s finished, which is the main thing.”

A tradesman involved in the project, who did not want to be named, said the rebuilding of the rotunda was a very positive thing.

He said: “It’s a key part of the seafront, and it serves an important purpose – it supports the street behind it.

“There’s at least a metre of concrete between the building and the street.

“There’s been a lot going on behind the scenes that people haven’t necessarily been aware of.”

Once finished, the Shelter Hall will be two storeys high and feature a partial mezzanine floor.

It was originally built in 1888 as a place for beachgoers to escape bad weather on the seafront.

A Brighton and Hove City Council spokesman said the hall was now being “actively marketed”.

He said: “Following three years of extensive and complex engineering work to strengthen the seafront road and stabilise the ground, the new Shelter Hall is taking shape.

“We have been actively marketing the Shelter Hall on the lower promenade and the rotunda above on Kings Road.

“There’s been a high level of interest in the Shelter Hall from a range of local, regional and national operators and we’re very pleased with the calibre of businesses that have come forward.

“The closing date for applications on the rotunda was in early July and we are currently finalising the terms with our preferred applicant.

“Our letting agents Savills is currently talking to a number of interested parties about the Shelter Hall and we anticipate receiving offers for consideration in the next couple of months.”