Businesses have a new venue in Brighton and Hove for seminars, conferences and meetings.

The council chamber in Hove Town Hall has been turned into a state-of-the-art information technology room for business presentations when not being used for council business.

The chamber has been kitted out with the latest technology, seating up to 150 people, with room for 30 more on the balcony.

The venue was opened by Nick Knowles, presenter of BBC TV's DIY SOS programme, in front of an audience from some of the city's leading firms.

Neil Duffie, manager of commercial operations at the town hall, said: "The room has been designed to incorporate all the audio visual elements you would normally have to hire as extras if you wanted to include interactive presentations.

"It has a built-in large screen LCD projection, with audio options, a computer/server unit, fixed or roving microphones, internet connection and a lot more."

The plan is part of a scheme to transform the town hall into a facility useful to all sections of the community.

A programme of larger-scale commercial events has been introduced into other parts of the centre, a sister venue to the Brighton Centre.

Steve Piper, head of venues with Brighton and Hove City Council, said the information technology room was an important asset in attracting conferences.

He said: "The room is equipped with some of the latest technology used in presentations and special events.

"Before it was made available to businesses it was only used during council meetings or other council business which meant it was empty for most of the time. Now it is earning revenue for the city.

"It is an important facility which is being marketed as part of the Brighton and Hove conference package."

Hove Town Hall also has its great hall with a capacity of 870 for conferences or 250 for banquets and the banqueting room for smaller receptions and trade shows.