The first new park in Brighton and Hove for more than a generation has been formally opened by the mayor Mohammed Asaduzzaman and council leader Bella Sankey.
They cut a ceremonial ribbon yesterday (Friday 16 May) to mark the official opening of the £13.7 million Hove Beach Park.
The seafront park stretches from the King Alfred Leisure Centre to Hove Lagoon and marks the climax of seven years of work which started with local community groups and involved a successful bid for government funding.
Various sections of the revamped seafront have already drawn crowds of visitors and residents as the different phases of the work have been completed.
The first section opened last September and included a skatepark, pump track and roller area.
Since then, the council said, a new bowls clubhouse, padel and tennis courts, gardens and new pathways had opened – as well as an outdoor sports hub, café and public toilets.
The existing croquet and bowls lawns have also reopened – and the final element, the sand sports area, is expected to welcome its first visitors in August.
The opening ceremony marked the start of a weekend of free activities to celebrate the occasion, with padel exhibition games scheduled for yesterday evening.
Anyone interested in padel will be able to watch games on the courts and talk to coaches about one of the country’s fastest-growing sports.
Today, the programme included an introductory bowls session on the bowling green and a jam session in the skatepark and pump track area.
And tomorrow, a skate jam is being held at the skate plaza from 10am until 6pm along with an introduction to croquet drop-in session on the croquet lawn from midday and 4pm.
The council said that people of all ages would be welcome.
Councillor Sankey, the Labour leader of Brighton and Hove City Council, said: “I am extremely proud and excited to be formally opening the first new park in the city in more than 100 years.
“This project has been evolving since 2018 through the work of local community organisations, particularly the West Hove Seafront Action Group and West Hove Forum.
“Working in partnership, we identified underused facilities and green spaces on the seafront and developed a plan to reinvigorate this key area of the city.
“The result is a linear park with attractive spaces, better biodiversity and a range of recreational activities for residents and visitors of all ages to enjoy.”
Councillor Sankey added: “Hove Beach Park will be a landmark on Hove seafront, a great destination in its own right, with accessibility for all at the forefront of the design.
“From gardens and cafes to BMX, padel and sand sports, we have already had a really positive response to the park.
“I hope the exciting programme of events lined up for the opening weekend will give many more people the chance to discover and enjoy these great new facilities.”
The council said: “Hove Beach Park was originally launched as the Kingsway to the Sea project. The new name was decided in a public vote in February 2024.
“Hove Beach Park represents an investment of more than £13 million in the city, including £9.6 million in funding from the UK government.”
Roz Scott is a freelance journalist. To read more of her work, visit rozscott.com.
It’s looks Fantastic, it’s what the Area needs to be honest-and to be loved for Generations to come.
Where are the Bangladeshi communities in this picture??? Seems to be none of them are here?????
I don’t like all the back slapping here, but Hove Beach Park in indeed something for us to enjoy and to be proud of. A rare positive in an era of cuts.
I’m just a bit surprised the fencing is still up in some of the park sections. These really need to be open in time for June. I guess the weird weather has caused several delays, not least with the planting.
Agree on the back slapping – the park came about over multiple council administrations, with key decisions being made under the previous administration – not Labour.
Also agree it’s positive news, but the self congratulations by politicians is a bit OTT. It’s really credit to campaigners and residents it came about, and Labour trying to claim it as their project is rewriting history. This isn’t something ANY political party should try to be claiming and residents and campaigners need the credit for getting cross party councillors to listen and take it forward.
Wonder if there’ll be similar backslapping after VG3?
There have been civic openings of all sorts of things up and down the land. They aren’t new!
Look at one of the lamposts next to the i360 and on one of them is a plaque marking the switch-on of the first electric lights along the prom.
@ ClareMac the vork of the community was recognised by Councillor Sankey
“This project has been evolving since 2018 through the work of local community organisations, particularly the West Hove Seafront Action Group and West Hove Forum.”
It’s good to know it’s officially open, though the Garden, Sand Sports and Caffe, are yet to be finished.
However, the Sea Front itself over the same distance, is in a neglected state.
Railings and Shelters only receive basic maintenance and painting which only lasts a year or so, as opposed to being properly maintained.
The majority of the Seats are in need of repair, a number have being taken away, never to be replaced.
There are areas where beach stones have been covering parts of the Tarmac, in some cases for a number of years!
The tarmac surface is in many places an untidy patchwork, also as a result of erosion by the sea, wind and weather, over large areas the sharp stone chipping base is exposed, which could cause serious injury if people fall over, especially Children!
Where there is a concrete Sea Wall, the majority of the drains allowing Sea and Rain Water, are never checked and blockages removed.
Again on the Concrete Wall, you can see where the openings originally had the facility to place boards do help prevent waver and shingle coming onto the promenade.
Where their steps down to the beach, many of the railings are missing, damaged and in a number of cases have sharp edges where they have been broken. These steps are essential for everyone’s safe access to the shingle, especially for the elderly, disabled and children.
Where the new Funfair is and by the Lagoon facilities the railings on the wall overlooking the area are badly rusted and the lower portion is completely missing, which could sever a finger, especially on a Child. I reported this to the Council several months ago, no action has been taken!
The Concrete and wooden Groins also need repairs, following storms over the past few years.
Additionally, the Council does not appear to be in control of quite a few Beach Hut owners, who do not maintain their Huts!
Just saying, millions have been spent, but the basics have been overlooked.
Your thoughts and comments would be appreciated.
This is government funded from LUF introduced by Boris Johnsons Government funds which cant be spent on providing council services
Funny how B&H council can write off the debt that the I360 run up and all of a sudden we have a new seafront esplanade that most of cost a few bob or two and yet that the council tax we pay doesn’t get our bins emptied on the days it’s supposed to….
Its LUF
Great to see so many enjoying the skate park today. Next up repair the crumbling wall by the cycle lane and sort out the appalling bomb site otherwise known as hove Promenade.
they need to bid for more funding when it becomes available for such a project
I think Councillor Sankey has done a wonderful job leading this innovation.
Hahaha – loving your dry sense of humour Molly – praising someone who has been a councillor for only 2 years about leading a project that started 7 years ago and was approved before she became a councillor 🙂
How long before that gets taken over by the piss head community , graffitied all over and vandalised
Michael, I’d suggest taking a walk down there to ease your fears – and perhaps your negativity.
This new park is already alive with people doing healthy outdoor activities. Plus it’s a lovely place to walk or to chill out.
The mayor really is just a photo opportunity.
I’m concerned that none of the other Labour councillors (or the media) have seen fit to challenge Sankey’s ridiculous claim that this is the first new park in the city in 100 years.
What about the Patch, near Elm Grove, a lovely and brand new park opened in the 1980s. Its official name, William Clarke Park, even honours a former Labour mayor of the city!
Sankey is eager to claim credit for projects that had nothing to do with her, but shows her shocking ignorance of the city’s geography and history (and even the history of her own party – but that’s no surprise, given that she and her autocratic cabinet are hard-line followers of Starmer).
If Cllr Sankey were a bar of chocolate she would eat herself. Loves a photo opportunity to wear her red dresses & red lipstick. Tries to rewrite history, but won’t get her hands dirty. Residents in her ward tell me of poor bin collections, messages left about road maintenance (lack of) get ignored & tree pruning (ignored), but then I suppose the councillor doesn’t want one of her many red outfits to get grubby
you should be ashamed of yourself, what a disgusting and needless comment
Cllr Lyons, it’s one thing to challenge policy. It’s another entirely to launch into sexist personal attacks about someone’s clothing, appearance, or photo opportunities. You’re an elected official, not a tabloid columnist.
Reducing a woman’s leadership to how she dresses or how she looks in photos isn’t just outdated – it’s embarrassing. If you have genuine concerns about local services, raise them properly. But this kind of language is exactly why so many people, especially women, are put off from entering public life.
Let Sankey take the credit for this white elephant of a project where £13.7m was spent on er, not very much, and certainly not £13.7m worth of picturesque and inclusive public beach improvements.
Actually it came about after two excellent Tory councillors and the local people applied to the Tory government under the levelling up fund. Which if Labour councillors had been more vigilant at the time they could have obtained more funds this way for the Madeira Terraces. Regarding the weird weather it has been very dry and when I drove past the other day most of the pine trees appeared dead or dying, another case of a lack of maintenance which is a major fault with our current administration. Otherwise yes it’s very good to see.
Only Councils can bid for Leveling Up Funding.
It’s not the job of individual councillors to do that because they can’t approve the scheme, the bid and any match-funding required (and match funding was required) only the Council as a corporate body can.
As to Madeira Terraces several bids have been made for funding but they didn’t meet the criteria for the funding stream or other bids scored more highly for the funding available.
And if we’re talking accuracy, the Levelling Up fund application was submitted under the Green council back in 2021 I believe. Planning permission was also awarded under the Greens.
I know that it seems to be Labour policy to refuse to mention cross party working and their aim is to try and take all glory and credit for projects they had little to do with, or at best, projects which were completed due to cross party working – but it kind of looks ridiculous when they try and rewrite facts.
It’s all a bit Trumpian of Labour imo. What next – Bella renaming Hove Beach Park “Bella’s Beach Park” in homage to Trump’s “Gulf of America” stance 🙂
Did they really spend £13.7m on THAT? I think we should demand to see a breakdown of what was spent where.
Not exactly attractive or inclusive since it has effectively privatised most of the beach in this area.
The new bowling club is a particular blot on the landscape and it was noticeable how they largely left it off the original artist’s impressions of the project.
MikeyMike, the only people who don’t like the new Beach Park seem to be those who can’t stand change. Are you one of them?
Each section has been a massive success, from the moment it opened.
So many (positive) people have come together to make this happen, and well done to them.