The first phase of Madeira Terrace’s restoration is still on track to be completed next summer, residents were told yesterday.

The last of the 28 arches which are being refurbished is due to be taken down by the contractor Mackley next week, when work to repair the concrete wall behind it can ramp up.

Meanwhile the final lift design is being put together so the bespoke parts can be ordered and the foundations put in.

At the update meeting at Sea Lanes yesterday, Mckley’s project manager Mike Clegg said: “Some of terrace is already at the foundry being refurbished. One element has so far had to be replaced.

“Once repairs are made, the item is then ls tested and measured to make sure they are the right size to fit into the plans.”

He said the last few weeks had also involved trialling a way of fixing the terraces back onto the wall.

The first trials had failed because the wall was too crumbly and so a different, more secure method would now be trialled.

“The original dismantling has gone really to plan. The aspects we thought would be more challenging have taken hours rather than weeks.

“But the trusses weren’t put together as it was shown on the 19th century plans, so they fell apart as we took them down.

“It’s been swings and roundabout. We have gained some and we have lost some, and we are about where we want to be.”

He said if it was discovered that any significant parts needed to be replaced, that could add 26 weeks to the project, because of the time needed to manufacture new ones.

When asked about whether any money was in place for future phases of restoration, Brighton and Hove City Council cabinet member Julie Cattell said no, but the council was hoping the completion of this phase would help in bidding for more money.

The council’s project manager Abigail Hone said the council was already pitching for money from the Heritage At Risk capital fund.

She added: “Some of the elements we took out as being non-essential could be brought back if the project goes smoothly.”

She said when the Victorians first built the terrace, they spent about £100,000 reinforcing the wall – far more than the £14,000 spent on the terrace itself.

In today’s money, that total is worth about £12 million – roughly the same as is being spent on this first phase of restoration.

Mr Clegg said that if Mackley was asked to price up future phases, it would base that on how the first phase went.

But he cautioned that other stretches of the terrace – in particular the western sections – were in worse repair than the stretch currently being worked on.