Builders have finally been appointed to construct a striking £8.5 million cultural complex in a seaside town.

Building contractor Bluestone will start work on the Eastbourne Cultural Centre in Devonshire Park, Eastbourne, in October.

The company has been responsible for building the renal unit at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton.

It has also worked on cultural buildings including Poole Arts Centre and the Tate Gallery's archive and manuscript store in Millbank, London.

Paintings and sculptures from the Towner Art Gallery, in High Street, Old Town, will be relocated at the new purpose-built contemporary building.

Permanent and temporary art displays, an exhibition hall, business conferences and space for community use will all be housed at the site, next to the Congress Theatre.

Borough council officials hope it will become a 21st-Century cultural hub that will be the envy of the arts scene in the South-East.

The central location, coupled with new programmes and more space, is expected to double the number of visitors to the gallery.

Borough council community service councillor Sandie Howlett said: "I'm so pleased this final exciting stage is about to start and Eastbourne will have a wonderful place to display its art collection."

The Towner Art Gallery is currently based in an 18th-Century building but alterations needed to improve conditions for its nationally-acclaimed collection could not be made without damaging the important listed building.

The new centre will instead bring the gallery into the centre of Eastbourne and officials hope it will enable more people to enjoy the varied collections all year round.

They include a cross-section of 20th-Century British artists from Christopher Wood and Eric Ravillious to Peter Lanyon and Ian Hamilton-Finlay.

Planning approval for the centre was granted in December and the South-East England Development Agency and Arts Council England has pledged cash. Eastbourne Borough Council will be providing the site as well as £800,000 from the sale of the Towner's former home in Old Town.

Work is due to be completed by 2007.

Council opposition leader David Tutt said: "It's a pleasure to see the delivery of this much-needed arts facility for Eastbourne moving forward on schedule."

Council officials said building work will mean the Congress Theatre's smaller car park will close. When building work is finished, the remaining site will be used for disabled motorists.