THE National Transport Trust (NTT) has launched a petition calling for Brighton and Hove council to re-open the iconic seafront road Madeira Drive.
Brighton’s most famous road was closed at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, originally to allow pedestrians to better maintain social distancing when out exercising or walking to the shops. Although to this day, the road remains closed to traffic, throwing historic events into doubt should the council agree to keep the route closed.
There is a strong Green Party presence in the council, that look upon events like the Brighton Speed Trials and the numerous vintage car events that use the location as their finish as polluting and unnecessary wastes of space.
A statement from the NTT reads:
‘There is now a lobby to keep the road closed permanently and this has strong backing from the Green Party in the Council. This would mean the end of historic events such as the Brighton National Speed Trials and the Veteran Car run, plus many other car and motorbike events such as the Ace Cafe Incarnation, the Pioneer Run, the Mini Run, the London to Brighton Kit Car Run and the Ace Cafe Reunion Brighton Bash to name just a few. The shops and clubs on Madeira Drive are already suffering badly but, if the road is closed to traffic, then they will go bankrupt.’
To sign the petition to re-open Madeira Drive, click here.
The NTT is calling upon all motorcyclists, whether they are from Brighton or further afield, to stand against the action and sign the petition calling for Madeira Drive to be reopened.
Furthermore, they ask that motorcyclists contribute to a council consultation on the same matter. The consultation can be found here and only takes a matter of minutes to complete. You don’t have to divulge who you are, where you live or any other personal information, although if you’d like to be kept up to date with the consultation you can add an email address.
