Council says it is open to selling part of beach

A council in West Sussex says it is open to selling its part of a beach and the surrounding facilities.

Adur District Council (ADC) said it had listened to public feedback about the potential sale of Southwick Beach to Shoreham Port Authority.

The council says it "lacks the necessary funding to adequately invest into the current infrastructure or ensure the future protection of the shoreline".

Shoreham Port Authority said: "It is evident that investment is needed in much of the area and our plan is to be in a financial position to undertake this."

If the sale is to go through, Shoreham Port Authority, which already owns most of the surrounding land, would also take on the promenade, public toilets, beach chalets and car park.

The cafe, which is independently operated on a long-term lease, would also be included in the sale.

A council spokesperson said: "The council believes Shoreham Port would be the ideal custodian of the land because of its key contribution to the local economy, its work with the community, its sustainable values and the fact it is the adjacent landowner."

If the sale goes ahead, existing contractual agreements with beach chalet tenants and the operator of Carats Cafe would be automatically assigned to Shoreham Port, which would be obligated to comply with the terms and conditions in place at the time of the transaction, the council added.

Shoreham Port Authority says if the sale goes through it will retain public access to the beach "forever".

The potential sale is going to be discussed by Adur & Worthing Councils' joint strategic committee on Tuesday.

Should a deal be agreed, the public facilities at Southwick Beach would be managed by Shoreham Port Authority.

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