Seven Dials repairs postponed to ease roadworks frustration

Repairs to the award-winning Seven Dials roundabout are being put on hold while roadworks around Brighton Station continue.

Cracks began to appear in the kerbs at the new roundabout in October, less than a year after it opened in December 2013.

However, after investigating the problem, the council has decided they pose no risk to the public and has postponed repairs to avoid adding to the city’s current roadworks.

A council spokesperson said: “We are aware of the problem with loose kerbs at the Seven Dials roundabout. However, we do not consider them to be a safety risk for either pedestrians or drivers.

“We are also conscious of the disruption the nearby works around Brighton Station and indeed elsewhere in the city have been causing.

“With this in mind we have therefore made a strategic decision to delay the repairs to the Seven Dials roundabout until the summer, after the nearby Brighton Station works have been completed.

“The scheme is still in the guaranteed maintenance period with the contractor, so the repairs will be done at their expense.”

Resident Bob Potter, who raised the issue in October, said he was surprised the council said they posed no safety risk.

He said: “Obviously I have no engineering qualifications, but I’m amazed that anyone could say these loose and fragmented tiles do not pose a safety risk.

“It’s the fragmentation that surely poses the greater risk — I’ve frequently stood on the pavement and watched traffic drive over the loose bits – they always move and never return to exactly the same position.”