Brighton and Hove is gearing up for an influx of 10,000 visitors for the Labour Party’s national annual conference starting on Sunday.

The four day event is expected to bring £15m for local retailers, hotels and restaurants.

The VisitBrighton Convention Bureau has worked with Labour Party event organisers to bring the conference to Brighton which was last held in the city in 2009.

The 5,000 capacity Brighton Centre located on the city’s seafront will host the conference with the adjacent Hilton Metropole as the main headquarters hotel.

Hoteliers are reporting strong advanced bookings and, with a range of other events, including the Food & Drink, Japan and Digital festivals, also taking place in September, are anticipating a busy start to the autumn season.

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Geoffrey Bowden, chairman of Brighton and Hove City Council’s economic development and culture committee,  said: "Conferences are one of our city’s big industries and we put substantial effort and resources into attracting conference business, not to raise money for the council but to ensure a whole range of local businesses and residents benefit.

"The Labour Party Conference is a high profile event attracting national media coverage that helps sell the city to other conference organisers and bring in a steady supply of lower-profile but important events year on year.

“The council will be working with the police and the conference organisers to make sure the event goes well for everyone involved.”

Chief Inspector Gary Pike from Sussex Police said: "'The policing team for Operation Otter has been working alongside the Labour Party, Brighton and Hove City Council and the venues to reduce the impact of the security measures on local businesses and the community.

"We have been talking to residents to share information about our plans so that people can ask us any questions they might have. As with all conferences of this size we would appeal to people in the local community to continue to talk to us and report anything that they think may be suspicious."

There will be a temporary lane closure of A259 from the junction with Cannon Place to adjacent the Odeon Cinema from 8pm on Friday, September 20 to allow for the fence build to take place.

Russell Road will also be temporarily closed to allow access for trucks to offload on Friday, September 20 until Saturday morning and Wednesday, September 25 at close of conference.

A temporary pedestrian walkway will be erected in the carriageway outside the Brighton Centre within the confines of the lay-by to allow pedestrian access across the front of the site until Wednesday.

There will also be a temporary crossing erected in Cannon Place to enable participants to cross the road safely. This will be in place between Saturday and Wednesday.