The Victorian Madeira Terraces in Kemp Town have become unsafe and all 151 of them have been closed off. The estimated cost of restoration is £24m.

A group of Kemp Town residents formed a group on Facebook, Save Madeira Terraces Raffle Group, to start fundraising to restore them. The first raffle raised £16,700 which, together with the crowd-funding, raised nearly half a million pounds. Another Raffle was held on 30 June and the Council applied, unsuccessfully, to the Heritage Lottery Fund for help.

Community campaigner and raffle organiser Jax Atkins said:
“It’s disappointing that HLF haven’t chosen to help with the terraces yet but we’re not giving up. There is such strong feeling in the community and so many people are determined to get the project underway. We will not be waiting around.
“Our midsummer raffle raised £9,000 and I’d like to thank everyone who bought tickets and donated prizes, we had over 800 in the end!  Every penny we raise sends a clear message to the Council and to funding bodies that the people of Brighton are serious about saving Madeira Terrace so we can once again be proud of our beautiful heritage and the shop window of our city.”

Next steps for the Madeira Terraces project include appointing a design team and obtaining planning and listed building consent.  Work on the first three arches is expected to start towards the end of the year.