City's first park in a century officially opens

The first new park to be opened in Brighton and Hove in more than 100 years has been officially unveiled.

Hove Beach Park, which stretches between Hove Lagoon and the King Alfred Leisure Centre, was approved in July 2022 and is now almost completed.

The £13.7m project, mostly paid for by a £9.5m government Levelling Up fund, features parks, a BMX track, skate park, padel and tennis courts, as well as a new café.

On Friday, Brighton & Hove City Council leader Bella Sankey and mayor Mohammed Asaduzzaman cut the ribbon in front of a crowd featuring people involved in the project, which was first discussed in 2018.

"I'm so proud and excited about what we have achieved here, there are so many things for residents to do and it's already being so well used," said Sankey.

"It's been very much led by our residents and community groups here who had visions of how we could transform a really underused space into something that is being very well used by all ages."

The project also includes a new outdoor sports hub next to the bowling greens, refurbished public toilets by the lagoon and wildflower and tree planting in the parks.

Some areas are nearly finished and a Yellowave Beach Volleyball centre is planned to open in August.

Angelique Van Gils Henderson, chair of the West Hove Seafront Action Group, said: "It's fantastic, a small group of us have worked on this since 2018. We were unhappy with the seafront and how derelict it looked.

"In partnership with the city council and the Levelling Up Fund, we managed to achieve all this. It's been hard work and a long few years but it's amazing to see it so busy."

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