A PLAN has been put forward to bring beach huts to a new part of the seafront.

Brighton and Hove Conservatives are calling the new beach huts to revamp the eastern part of the seafront.

The city council’s budget is due to be decided at a meeting this evening. The Conservatives’ proposal would look into placing more beach huts in Rottingdean, Ovingdean and Saltdean

“Many residents have expressed interest having a beach hut and would greatly welcome these facilities on this side of the city,” said Conservative Councillor Mary Mears.

The vision, which would also include and a disability access ramp, are aimed at “redressing the accessibility gap between the western and eastern seafronts in Brighton”.

The disability beach access ramp for the eastern seafront would cost an estimated £30,000.

A feasibility study for a new beach huts for the eastern seafront which cost an estimated £10,000.

These proposals, the Conservatives’ say, build on their plan to boost the accessibility of Brighton and Hove’s seafront tourist attractions, which would see £500,000 ringfenced for a new accessible carriage for the Volk’s Electric Railway.

Conservative councillor Mary Mears said. “Many residents east of the city feel forgotten by Brighton and Hove Council as if the city ends at the Marina.

“There are 10 miles of beachfront and a shocking shortage of disability access ramps. There is currently only one disability access ramp in the city which is near the King Alfred in the west.

“We hope that these measures will be supported by the council on Thursday night so we can show people in the east of the city and people with a disability that they are not forgotten by this council” councillor Mears added.

Conservative Equalities Spokesperson Dee Simson said that disability access to the seafront had gone backwards this year after a range of active travel measures were introduced by the council “without proper consultation”.

“The council’s treatment of people with a disability over the past year has been nothing short of disgraceful” councillor Simson said.

“As has been widely reported in the press, the council’s active travel measures have discriminated against people with a disability in our city, reducing safe access to the seafront at Madeira Drive and the A259 by creating dangerous parking bays and reducing access to the toilets on Madeira Drive.

“The impact has prompted residents to come together to form a new disability advocacy organisation – Brighton Access for Disabled Groups Everywhere (BADGE), which we fully support.

“These Conservative measures aim to focus the council on increasing accessibility to the seafront instead of reducing it”

Conservative finance spokesperson Joe Miller said that the proposal for new beach huts would generate revenue for the council as well as improving seafront accessibility.

“These measures are to be funded by redirecting funding from other areas of the budget but in the medium term will generate revenue for the council.

“We want to see measures that increase accessibility for the disabled rather than reduce it, so are proposing to redirect funding from the Greens’ low traffic neighbourhood pilot which will only restrict disability access in our city further.

“Our experience from the last Conservative administration in the city between 2007-2011 shows that a successful beach hut building programme not only boosts accessibility to the seafront but also generates revenue for the council, making this a financially prudent plan”