Council's vision for seafront hotel

If their ideas bear fruit the Beachcomber could be saved and a community centre and social housing provided close by.

This week developer McCarthy and Stone was refused permission to replace the hotel with a mix of flats for the frail and elderly and social housing.

It had appealed against the refusal of Lewes District Council to grant permission after submitting two similar planning applications.

A public inquiry in May focused on three main issues surrounding the latest application '“ the loss of a food and drink outlet on the seafront, the size of the proposed building and the suitability of the site for elderly people and the strain on health services. The appeal was thrown out on Monday.

Now, interested councillors are exploring ways of keeping the hotel as a seafront fixture. These include seeking partners from among local business people, looking for funding from its own resources and using land it owns near to the site.

Cllr John Freeman said: 'This is our wake-up call and I want people to come forward and support this. If we do not do something to improve and develop our facilities we will die on the vine.

'The appeal has been dismissed and I think that in itself is good news. Now we can go to Steve Brumwell (the pub's owner] and say we really want to keep it as a watering hole and From front page a hotel. We also want to use the land we own which leads from the Beachcomber to the recreation ground. We want a community centre bringing everyone together to create a community heart.

'We do not have one and we have lost lots and lots of space over the years so let's keep what we have got.'

Cllr Freeman said the town council was behind the idea and part of the money needed for funding would be generated by building social housing. He said members would have to search in a number of different pots for the money.

'We have had these plans on the drawing board for some time. If we can show we can generate some money ourselves we have more of a chance and we would raise money by having social housing on the side.'

He said it was quite a big development and would dramatically alter the heart of Seaford.

'If we want to think of ourselves as a tourist town we can't lose our last watering hole. We will have to go to Steve Brumwell and see how he feels about this but we want some key business people to come forward and help.'

Cllr Bob Sinclair is also keen on the idea. He said: 'Since the dismissal we are reconvening and discussing our interest in finding a local solution while the Beachcomber still sits there. The town council is looking for development opportunities. I think what we need is an all-party focus group and invite people to come forward to make suggestions and put forward ideas.'

The council will now form a working party to drive the project forward, looking at funding options and approaching Mr Brumwell.