Hove's Kingsway to the Sea park plans approved

The proposed Kingsway to the Sea project will provide seafront parkland in Hove

A proposed £13m revamp of Hove seafront has been approved by councillors.

Brighton and Hove City Council officials are now preparing to submit a planning application for the project, known as Kingsway to the Sea.

The project was budgeted to cost £10.6m when it first went before the council in December.

The policy and resources committee had already authorised £1m in borrowing and has now agreed to borrow £1m more.

The bulk of the costs will be paid for by a £9.5m grant from the government’s Levelling Up Fund – to be spent by the end of March 2024.

A further £1.2m will come from developers’ contributions and £300,000 from the council’s public toilet refurbishment programme.

More than 2,700 people took part in public consultation exercises about Kingsway to the Sea, but the current designs are still proving controversial, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

'Accessible to everyone'

Green council leader Phélim MacCafferty said:

“The facilities will be set within an open green landscaped area which will include accessible pathways, seating and planting and will be accessible to everyone.”

The committee unanimously agreed to submit a planning application and approved the revised budget.

A further report is due to go before the council in December.