The future of Southwick Beach
We know many of you have questions about the potential transfer of our section of Southwick Beach to Shoreham Port Authority, so we have created this dedicated webpage to provide some more information and address any concerns you may have.
Southwick Beach - what's being proposed?
Shoreham Port Authority has put forward an offer to purchase our section of Southwick Beach. The transfer would also include the promenade, public toilets, beach chalets, the café and car park.
The port authority has approached us about the possibility of purchasing the site. It already owns most of the surrounding land, including the majority of the public coastline leading to the Brighton and Hove border from Southwick Beach.
We are open to selling our part of the beach, as well as the surrounding facilities, as we lack the funding to adequately invest into the current infrastructure and ensure the future protection of the shoreline.
Since the possible transfer was first suggested, Shoreham Port Authority has announced its commitment to retain public rights of access to the beach forever, should the sale be agreed.
We have also highlighted the importance of the beach remaining publicly accessible and we know this is of huge importance to our residents and people that visit the beach regularly.
We believe Shoreham Port Authority would be an ideal custodian of the land because of its trust status, its key contribution to the local economy, its work with the community, its sustainable values and the fact it is the adjacent landowner.
Should a transfer be agreed, the public facilities at Southwick Beach, including the promenade, public toilets and car park, would be managed by Shoreham Port Authority. Existing contractual agreements with beach chalet tenants and the operator of Carats Café would be automatically assigned to the port authority.
For more information about the potential sale of our part of Southwick Beach, please view this public report:
Photos: Southwick Beach
Which area of the beach could be sold?
Adur District Council owns the section of Southwick Beach highlighted below, which is about 1.3 miles (2.1 kilometres) long and runs alongside Basin Road South.
Image: Southwick Beach - land owned by Adur District Council (image credit Shoreham Port Authority)
To put this into perspective, we also want to show you the image below, which shows how much of the public coastline, highlighted in orange, Shoreham Port Authority already manages up to and beyond the Brighton & Hove border.
Image: Southwick Beach - land owned by Shoreham Port Authority (image credit Shoreham Port Authority)
As you can see, the port authority owns the majority of the adjacent coastline and surrounding land, which is one of the reasons why we believe it would be the ideal custodian of the beach into the future. It also has the experience and resources to build coastal defences that will help protect the stretch of coastline for future generations
What's happening next?
We're hosting an engagement event so members of the community can find out more about the potential sale of our section of Southwick Beach and ask any questions they have.
The event will be hosted at Southwick Community Centre on Monday 28th July 2025 from 6:30pm to 8pm, with members of the public now being invited to reserve their space online and submit any questions they would like answered.
The event will be led by Councillor Jeremy Gardner, the leader of Adur District Council, and will be attended by our officers along with representatives of Shoreham Port Authority.
We have decided on Southwick Community Centre in Southwick Street as the venue because we want to ensure that the event is easily accessible for local residents.
It's been advised that the maximum capacity is around 80 people, so we have created an online booking page via Eventbrite to help manage numbers. Tickets will be granted on a first come, first served basis:
We're aware not everyone will be able to attend the event, so we are also inviting residents to submit any questions they may have by email to:
The deadline to submit a question for the event is Wednesday 23rd July 2025 at 5pm.
There won't be any movement on the potential transfer until the event has taken place and residents have had the opportunity for their questions or concerns to be addressed.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
Why is the council open to selling its section of the beach?
We're open to selling our part of the beach, as well as the surrounding facilities, as we lack the funding to adequately invest into the current infrastructure and ensure the future protection of the shoreline.
We also believe Shoreham Port Authority would be an 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.
What is Shoreham Port Authority and what does it do?
Since being established as a trust by an Act of Parliament in 1760, Shoreham Port has been reinvesting its profits to benefit the communities and stakeholders it serves. It's a key contributor to the local economy, creating hundreds of jobs, and works with the community to benefit local people, community groups and charities. It also has strong sustainable values.
Around two million tonnes of commercial cargo and 14,000 leisure boats are welcomed through Shoreham Port's lock gates each year. To find out more about the port authority, see:
Will the beach still be publicly accessible?
Shoreham Port Authority has committed that, should a transfer be agreed, public rights of access to the beach would be legally retained forever.
The port authority already owns and manages the coastline leading to the Brighton and Hove border from Southwick Beach, which is publicly accessible.
Isn't the beach owned by the Crown Estate?
No, the designated land identified for potential sale to Shoreham Port Authority is not part of the Crown Estate. To find out more about the Crown Estate's coastal ownership, see:
What will happen to the public rights of way over the lock gates?
The public rights of way are legally binding and will remain in place, whatever the outcome of the potential transaction. A map of the path is shown in red here:
Image: Southwick Beach - public rights of way
I'm a beach chalet owner on Southwick Beach - what happens to my licence?
Any existing agreements will be honoured. We also understand Shoreham Port Authority intends to repair the chalets, which we do not have the cash to do.
What will happen to Carats Café?
Should a transfer be agreed, the existing contractual agreements with the operator of Carats Café would be automatically assigned to Shoreham Port Authority, meaning it would have to respect the current long-term agreement in place with the operator.
Why can't the council get any funding to pay for beach defence works?
The government provides grant funding towards coastal projects, but the amount provided depends on the number of properties and infrastructure the scheme protects. The shortfall will need to be funded by the local authorities. The Brighton Marina to River Adur Coastal Protection scheme capital costs were estimated at £21.7m, with only £12m provided by the Environment Agency and other government funders. Therefore the local Authorities had to fund £9.7m.
Adur District Council's contribution is £1.7m for the construction of a sea wall along the promenade/footpath to prevent flooding. These figures were taken from the Environment Agency's approved outline business case, however, as the project has progressed we have discovered that the actual costs are more than double the original estimates.
With local government reorganisation on the horizon, is it reasonable to decide the future of our section of Southwick Beach now?
We cannot expect central government support for local authorities in this area or try to anticipate future funding sources. What we do know today is that, with the best information currently available, Shoreham Port Authority is undoubtedly the most suitable custodian for the future of coastal defences in this part of Sussex.
This is due to its long-term operational requirements, an adjacent landowner, coupled with their commitment to protecting employment and infrastructure. It's clear that they remain motivated and adequately funded to be the most effective party in delivering a solution.
Why can't local residents get together and buy the beach to protect it for future generations?
The best owner of this is the neighbour, the port authority. They have the resources, ability and track record to fund the necessary investment and capital works to ensure the area can continue to be enjoyed by everyone.
Page last updated: 18 July 2025