Brighton station lift could be back in service after three years

Residents have raised concerns as the lift up to Brighton Station at the New England Quarter has been out of use for nearly three years.
The lift at Brighton stationThe lift at Brighton station
The lift at Brighton station

The issue has been raised on a number of occasions at meetings of the London Road Action Team and with Caroline Lucas MP.

Two local residents, Judi and Peter Lynn, told a recent meeting how much it had effected their lives.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Peter, who is 81 has a disability and receives regular treatment at a London hospital. He requires easy access to the station. Peter and his wife moved to the area because it had a lift making access to the station was easy.

Brighton Pavilion MP Caroline Lucas said: "Providing disability access shouldn't be seen as an additional feature or afterthought, especially when it affects the ability to use public transport.

“Over the last three years I've heard from a number of constituents about the impact on them of this broken lift. I've made clear to Hyde my frustration at the time it's taking for them to find a permanent fix. I keep being told by Hyde that the situation is complex, I keep reminding them that it needs to be fixed, and it’s been three years.

“Hyde are looking to work with the council on future developments in the city, so they need to up their game, and repair known problems in a timely manner at their existing ones".

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The lift briefly worked when it was installed in 2015. Since then residents say they have largely been kept in the dark with no timeline given for repair.

Hyde Housing has said that the issue of the lift repair is complex and that there have been a number of underlining issues which have caused the delay to the repair.

Over time Hyde has offered residents a range of reasons for the delay from scaffolding impeding repair to a blocked drainage system causing the lift shaft shaft to become flooded. There has been no explanation as to why it has taken so long to find a solution.

Scott Cummines, head of compliance for Hyde Housing, apologised for the inconvenience.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

He said: “The lift is now working, and just requires safety testing and cleaning before being put back in service.”

Mr Cummines added that they 'expect these works to be completed over the next couple of weeks and the lift to be returned to service at the beginning of July'.