Brighton

Introduction

Brighton (and Hove) is bordered by the South Downs and the English Channel. The city has a low proportion of children and a very high proportion of working age residents. There is a well educated resident workforce with nearly 29 per cent of adult residents holding a degree or equivalent qualification. This is supplemented by a student population of approximately 32,000 many of whom stay all year round. As a result the city has a high 20 to 29 age group (17 per cent of residents compared to 12.6 per cent in England and Wales).

Good transport links to London, a healthy local economy and a perceived high ‘quality of life’ factor for those living in the city has led to high demand for housing and high property costs. The city contains internationally renowned regency terraces and the Royal Pavilion, as well as a number of attractive open spaces, the seafront and the South Downs. Brighton and Hove's economy is supported by around 8.02 million visitors per annum (2004) of which 6.5 million are day visitors (but account for 59 per cent of all visitor revenue) wanting to experience the city’s mix of urban, coastal, rural, cultural and leisure opportunities (the city has 1.4 million square feet of retail space). The tourism sector supports over 6,000 full-time equivalent jobs. Every May the city hosts the largest arts festival in England and in August attracts thousands to its 'Pride festival'.

Recent Visits

Rose Winterton, Minister of State for Transport visited Brighton on 11 September 2007.

Demographics for Brighton

Mid-2006 Population Estimates

Figures updated annually. Last update August 2007. Source: Office for National Statistics.

Children and Learners

• 4,975 free part-time early education places taken up by 3 & 4 year olds in 2007 in Brighton & Hove
• There are seven specialist schools in Brighton & Hove (November 2007)

Crime

• Brighton has been named as one of 40 priority Respect Action Areas in England, for being a Council who has a strong record in tackling anti-social behaviour. The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) is also backing the scheme with £6m of funding in 2007-08 for parenting classes in the 40 areas
• The Brighton police force was allocated £190,000 from the Basic Command Unit fund for the period 2005-06 to enable them to continue their fight to reduce crime
• £360,000 was allocated for 2005-06 from the Safer & Stronger Communities Fund for the local Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP) fight against drugs and related crime
• Brighton has been allocated £30,000 from the Domestic Violence Fund for 2005-06 and will be used for a Woman’s Refuge project organised by the local council
• For 2004-05 and 2005-06 over £140,000 was allocated to the Drug Action Team by the Partnership Support Grant to help support the fight to reduce the use of drugs

Transport

• £2.8m was awarded to Brighton & Hove to promote cycling with matched funding from 2005-08
• in 2005 Brighton & Hove won a number of awards. These include the E-Government Award at the LGC National Local Government Awards 2005 which went to Brighton & Hove City Council for its real-time bus information, the SystemBest buy partnership award with Brighton & Hove Bus Company,  and the Transport Authority of the Year award 2005
• the £12m Bus-Based Rapid Transport Scheme has been prioritised for funding in 2010-11 to 2011-12. The Local Authority is in discussions with the Regional Assembly for early funding
• The Brighton Local Transport Plan (LTP 2006-11) and the Delivery Report for 2001 to 2005-06 have both been assessed as 'good'. Funding for maintenance in 2007-08 is just over £1.2m and funding for 2007-08 for the integrated transported block is over £4.3m
• Investment in Public Transport has been very high culminating in a 21 per cent increase and a 10 per cent reduction in cars entering and leaving the city over the last five years

 Social Inclusion and Regeneration

• around £5m has been awarded from the 2006-08 Neighbourhood Renewal Fund to help fight crime and tackle the problems faced by the most disadvantaged communities
• almost £1.6m has been allocated from the new Neighbourhood Element of the Safer & Stronger Communities Fund (SSCF) for 2006-10, to improve quality of life and tackle issues such as anti-social behaviour
• £47.2m has been allocated from the New Deal for Communities (NDC) initiative to support the community in East Brighton and its ten year programme East Brighton for You (eb4u) until 2010

European Funding

• £3m was awarded for the Kemptown and Whitehawk areas under the Urban programme, including the development of The Crypt Community Centre at St. George’s Church and the Valley Social Centre.
• nearly £150,000 was awarded to the University of Sussex under the European Social Fund (ESF) Objective 3 to provide Higher Education Study for women in some of the most deprived wards of Brighton & Hove
• the University of Sussex has received funding for projects including £3m of Interreg funds to support a number of environmental related research-based projects in Brighton and neighbouring areas