The damaged part of the Royal Albion hotel will be demolished tomorrow, the council has confirmed.

Smaller fires at the historic building have delayed demolition of the part of the hotel which went up in flames on Saturday.

The work to ensure the building is structurally safe is expected to take two to three weeks.

East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service attended the site overnight on Monday to put out some smaller fires and reduce the chance of further reignition.

They will continue to make regular visits overnight on Tuesday to check on the structure. Security will also remain on site throughout.

Barriers have been placed around the hotel to ensure a safe perimeter and the on-site contractor will continually assess the risk, a spokesman said.

Leader of Brighton and Hove City Council Bella Sankey said a 3D scan of the whole exterior of the building has been carried out and photos will be taken regularly to allow the council to replicate the original features.

“The demolition of part of the Royal Albion hotel has been delayed until tomorrow on health and safety grounds,” she said.

“We of course want to save as much of this iconic, heritage building as possible and have tasked our contractors to do this.

“As many original features as possible will be set aside for reuse or for moulds / copying.

“We are in contact with Historic England and will continue to work closely with them.”

Part of Kings Road (A259) between the Old Steine roundabout and East Street, as well as most of Pool Valley, has been fenced off due to the risk of falling debris during the demolition process.

ROYAL ALBION HOTEL FIRE

The council expects Pool Valley to remain closed for the next three weeks.

The properties directly behind the Royal Albion Hotel will also remain inaccessible. Anyone affected by this has been contacted and given more information or support.

Residents displaced by the fire can contact the council’s housing team by emailing housing.advice@brighton-hove.gov.uk or calling 01273 294 400 (option 1).

Businesses outside of this exclusion zone can reopen but the council has advised that they carry out their own risk assessments to ensure the safety of their staff and customers.

Multi-agency meetings have taken place between council teams and the UK Health Security Agency on the risk to public health.

Alistair Hill director of Public Health’s advice said: “We understand there are health concerns about asbestos. I would like to reassure people that the risks to health are low.

“Asbestos is known to be in the textured ceiling coatings used in the building but there is unlikely to be any significant risk of exposure to asbestos following this fire.

“The area around the hotel will remain closed off to the public and we do not believe that any asbestos has fallen outside this area.

“Our on-site contractor who will be responsible for demolishing the damaged parts of the hotel will be continually assessing the risk and security will remain on site at all times.

“While work is ongoing, if residents or businesses in the area notice any smoke or dust in the air please keep windows and doors closed.”

Brighton and Hove City Council has asked people to continue to avoid the area and said road diversions remain in place.

“If residents or businesses in the area notice any dust or smoke in the air, please keep windows and doors closed,” a council spokesman said.

“If anyone sees excessive smoke or flames coming from the building, please contact the fire service on 999.”