Brighton crowdfund reaches almost £500,000

A crowdfunding campaign to kickstart the regeneration of a Grade 2-listed Victorian terrace on Brighton seafront has smashed its target and raised more than £460,000.

The campaign by Brighton and Hove council to help fund work on Madiera Terrace closed last week, after 2,131 backers raised £464,697 on the crowdfunding website Spacehive.

New Start covered the launch of the crowdfunding campaign in August, which aimed to raise around £400,000 towards the repair of a section of Madeira Terrace, which runs along Madeira Drive on the city’s seafront.

The terrace itself has been closed to the public since 2012, as the structure has degraded and become unsafe.

The crowdfunding money will be used to bring at least three of the 151 arches back into use.

The council is proposing to redevelop the terrace in three stages.

Once fully open, the redeveloped terrace will have around 25,000 sq ft of rentable area.

Over the last few months, the campaign has attracted widespread support from local residents, businesses and had backing from a range of celebrities including local superstar DJ FatBoy Slim, Eddie Izzard and Steve Coogan.

A grand raffle and auction was also organised to raise funds for the project.

The leader of Brighton and Hove council, Warren Morgan said it was ‘an ambitious idea and a step into the unknown’, but the ‘option to do nothing wasn’t something we were prepared to do’.

‘Together, with the city’s residents, businesses, Visit Brighton and heritage organisations we’ve taken the first and crucial step in saving a valued part of our local heritage,’ added Morgan.

‘I will not stop praising Jax Atkins and her team of local volunteers, all the artists, shops, small traders and others who donated prizes, everyone who bought raffle tickets and the shops that sold them, raising an incredible £16,700+.

‘I want to say a huge thanks to all the companies which responded to our request to donate, and to the 2,000 residents, visitors and people who love Brighton and Hove and made individual donations,’ added the council leader. ‘It’s been a tense, but exciting four-month campaign but we’ve done it!’

The head of partnerships at Spacehive, Niraj Dattani, said the Save Madiera Terrace was the biggest it has ever seen and ‘it has been fantastic to see how it’s brought the city together’.

‘With over 2,100 backers and many more raffle tickets bought by the public, the campaign has generated civic pride on a huge scale,’ added Dattani.

‘This enthusiasm has been matched by Brighton’s business community, who have pledged tens of thousands of pounds to the campaign. The campaign also demonstrates the council’s pioneering approach to engaging with and delivering for its communities.

‘The Madeira Terrace campaign shows what’s possible when everyone comes together to improve the city. Brighton is full of creativity and passion, and working with everyone involved has been amazing.’