On the 22nd of November the Claremont hotel located just opposite the pier in Eastbourne town centre was burnt down. Only the front wall and half of the side wall remains after the worst fire Eastbourne has seen for years. Everybody evacuated the building safely with no injuries or deaths however the building was far from lucky. The whole hotel was burnt down with nothing to remain except the front wall and half of the side wall. The whole of the inside and back of building was burnt down leaving piles of rubbish and destructed building located where the building once stood. The horrific fire started in the basement as a result of a gas explosion but spread so rapidly it got out of control. Despite the fact fire engines were called almost immediately they couldn’t save the much loved historic hotel building. People lost much loved belongings and almost 200 jobs were lost.
The part of the road where this building was located was shut due to worries about the unstable remaining wall. The hotels located nearby were also shut due to concerns about anyone going near the unstable building causing frustration for those who booked these hotels over the Christmas period. These hotels remain shut due to continued health concerns of the smoke and rubbish which still remains. However, as storm Dennis approached the decision was made to knock down the remains of the standing building as was considered too dangerous. After this they hope to start and re-build this building however will be far from soon. There is piles of destruction from walls to pipes to belongings to furniture all burnt still remains located on the floor of where the hotel stood. Once this has been removed the owner of the hotel hopes to re build the whole building and get it running again. This will not be a easy job at all and could take a minimum of 5-10 years. Hopefully, the hotels nearby can open nearby and the road will open soon as well.
