Brighton and Hove needs better parking, a better train service and a more positive approach to pubs, clubs and bars, according to Hove MP Mike Weatherley.
Mr Weatherley called for a cut in red tape, tax breaks for small businesses and a kinder national insurance regime.
These were the key measures that he said were necessary to help tourism thrive in the area.
The Conservative MP was speaking in a House of Commons debate in Westminster Hall on how to regenerate seaside towns.
Mr Weatherley praised the many festivals and events in Brighton and Hove.
He said that these were one of the key ways to attract visitors.
He also cited quality shopping facilities, top tourist attractions and decent hotels and B&Bs to stay in and good places to eat and drink.
Mr Weatherley said: “Health and safety rules, licensing costs and restrictions applied by local councils on outdoor events and carnivals can have the effect of de-incentivising organisers.”
He also said: “Unfortunately, many seaside towns in the UK have problems managing the night-time economy.
“Many councils and residents look with disdain at bars and clubs and their patrons, and a cultural shift is required to move on and recognise the economic benefits of that sector.
“Within Brighton and Hove the night-time economy raises a figure in excess of £400 million a year.
“A thriving night-time economy is one of the strongest draws for visitors to the coast and, increasingly, for the ‘silver mature’ market, which includes myself.
“The night-time economy should be embraced and helped, not legislated against.
“Extended licensing hours, for example, have generally benefited the city, rather than had a negative effect.”
Fellow Conservative Simon Kirby, the MP for Brighton Kemptown, interrupted Mr Weatherley during the debate.
Mr Kirby said: “My honourable friend will know how lucky he is to represent a constituency that is so close to mine in the great tourist resort of Brighton and Hove.
“It has nearly eight million visitors a year who provide £0.75 billion to the economy every year, and 14,000 people are employed in the tourism industry.
“He is right to say that tourism is not just about the beach and the sea.
“There is a variety of important cultural attractions in the city that we represent.
“Things such as music and arts, which I know are dear to my honourable friend’s heart, are important drivers, together with traditional attractions such as the Palace Pier.
“Does my hon. Friend agree that we need better train services to enable people to come and see our great city?”
Mr Weatherley said: “One of the main blocks to feel-good tourism in the UK is the continued lack of investment in the infrastructure of seaside towns.
“That leads to limited and expensive parking and, as my honourable friend Simon Kirby noted, inadequate rail facilities.
“Due to necessary but never-ending engineering works, Brighton and Hove is often inaccessible by direct rail at weekends, and the road works and lack of road capacity result in endless traffic jams at peak times.
“The cumulative effect of that has a negative impact on visitors, and the lack of investment in city centre parking in Brighton and Hove is a major obstacle to future development.
“The past decade of discouraging car use was a mistake.
“An integrated transport system is required, rather than forcing through one form of transport.
“Congestion charging says to visitors, ‘Please do not come here.’
“Let us hope that that idea is never implemented in Brighton and Hove, which depends on welcoming visitors rather than turning them away.
“The same applies to parking fines.
“Car parking should be a council priority when looking at investment in buildings and other attractions.
“I would also like to see proposals for the monorail along our seafront progressed.
“That would be an innovative scheme, and a first for the country.
“Such proactive development will boast the importance and desirability of the city as a destination.
“I welcome the coalition shift towards having more planning decisions taken locally, and I hope that that does not lead to fewer planning approvals.
“Our record in Brighton and Hove over the past 20 years may be attributed to the proposal of inappropriate schemes, and to intransigent developers trying to foist their schemes on the city.
“It is also due to a cumbersome planning permission regime.
“Although it is important to protect the unique Georgian and Victorian architectural heritage of our seaside towns, which have no equivalent in the world, it is equally important to see them as living, breathing spaces with economies to support.
“We need to get the balance right between protecting the best bits, and being bold enough to replace the mediocre.”
The debate was a way of MPs voicing their concerns rather than changing policy or even the law.
But they were listened to by a government minister, John Penrose, who replied without promising any change.
I’d like to see Dr Lucas, MP for Brighton Pavilion, airing her views here. Her friend Green Cllr Jason Kitcat is very much anti-drinking and fun.
good to hear Mr Kirby used the authentic name for the pier: “….traditional attractions such as the Palace Pier.”
What’s absent from these perorations is any practical idea of how to improve the Brighton train service and reduce the effect of engineering work.
Here’s one: re-open the Uckfield-Lewes link, which would provide an alternative route to London other than going via Littlehampton or having to get on a bus.
This would require public investment, of course, which neither of these Tory free market fanatics would be prepared to sanction. So I’d like to respectfully suggest that they cut out the warm waffle and follow the advice of the sage – say nothing if you’ve got nothing to say.
Dan – on what basis are you accusing me of being “anti-drinking and fun”?
Opposing late night license extensions to prevent crime and nuisance to residents is not quite the same thing… It’s about finding a balance in the area.
Regards
Jason
I appreciate the comments with regard to an improved train service. Sadly, this is difficult to achieve with inadequate platform facilities at Brighton station. Coastway West is at saturation point, with so many trains per hour at Shoreham, that the busy railway crossing is more often closed than open. This equates to many other stations with ‘level crossings’.