All not well at the Royal Alex

You can often hear me grumble in the saloon bar, or as I stroll past the place, that the Royal Alex hospital on Dyke Road in Brighton risks becoming “our next West Pier.” Despite the fact a plan is in place and development is supposed to start soonish, it’s still a discarded site with all the risks that entails. It seems to me not beyond the bounds of possibility that it will burn to the ground yet. And that would be shame. It’s a building with some charm.

That’s why it’s particularly annoying to see that the turrets have recently been stripped of their lead, presumably by profiteering thieves. It’s not hard to get into the site: one of the fence doors is knocked through and you can stroll in. Taylor Wimpey isn’t taking security seriously at all. Imagine.