The future of Southwick Beach has been protected through the transfer of Adur District Council’s section of the shoreline to Shoreham Port Authority.
The council announced in October last year that it had decided to transfer ownership of its section of the beach, the land alongside it and its facilities to the port authority.
Council leader Jeremy Gardner has backed the sale, saying it offers the strongest long-term protection for the area.
Councillor Jeremy Gardner said: “We understand how valued this stretch of Southwick Beach remains to the community, and believe placing it under the care of the port authority offers the strongest long-term protection for the area.
“We’re confident Southwick Beach has a positive future ahead with the port authority as its steward, and we appreciate the many local residents who have shared their views and demonstrated such strong support for the beach throughout the consultation process.”
The sale includes a legal covenant to ensure the popular stretch of beach remains publicly accessible forever, regardless of any future change in ownership. The council says this was requested by a number of people in the community.
Shoreham Port Authority approached the council about buying the land, which includes the foreshore, promenade, public toilets, beach chalets, surface car park and café, which is let to the operator on a long-term lease.
Adur District Council says it faced a projected future cost risk of around £4 million and did not have the funding needed to invest properly in the infrastructure or guarantee long-term shoreline protection.
The transfer has now been formally completed for £550,000, removing the multimillion-pound risk to the council.
The port authority already owns most of the public beach running alongside Basin Road South and is now responsible for sea defences along the 1.3-mile section of foreshore previously owned by the council.
The toilets and car park are also now managed by the port authority, while existing agreements with beach chalet tenants and Carats Café continue unchanged.
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