Experts have been appointed to help develop sport at a crumbling seafront leisure centre.

Brighton and Hove City Council is looking at what to do with the King Alfred Leisure Centre in Kingsway after ambitious plans collapsed last year.

Now the authority has appointed the London-based Ken Burlton Consultancy to look at how sports could be improved there.

Mr Burlton will look at sports attractions that could be placed there, what catchment areas it could serve and whether National Lottery funding would be available for all or part of the development.

Hillier Parker have been appointed as property consultants. The firm has worked on projects such as the Swiss Cottage Leisure Centre in London and the Rainbow Centre in Epsom.

It will look at how much money the site could raise to pay for a new sports centre and calculate building costs for various options.

Cabinet culture councillor Ian Duncan said: "Appointing a sports consultant as well as a property consultant underlines our commitment to putting sport at the heart of the development."

Council officers are about to start work on a planning brief for the site, which will involve consulting local residents and organisations.

Coun Duncan said: "I want to stress this will be a complex project involving some hard decisions. We may not get everything everyone wants but we'll get the best we possibly can."

The King Alfred is nearing the end of its life and would cost at least £2 million to renovate.

Previous plans, including cinemas, bars and restaurants, were opposed by neighbours.