Cyclists and pedestrians will be forced off a popular seafront route for three months when work to restore an ageing attraction gets under way.

Just under 500ft of footpath and cycle track along Brighton seafront will close as demolition and replacement work is carried out on a section of the Kings Road Arches known as the Carousels.

The closure will affect the promenade opposite the Thistle Hotel, with the whole pavement closed in January 2006 and pedestrians and cyclists diverted down on to the seafront.

One cycle group criticised the lack of warning about the closure and raised concerns about the impact of blocking off parts of the city's busiest bike routes.

Adam Pride, Bricycles secretary, said: "I am disturbed by the closure because there is no other route which goes east to west or west to east through the city.

"The seafront route is the busiest in Brighton and if cyclists have to go down on the promenade you will be in conflict with the pedestrians.

"The council should have told us about the work and they need to make a decent provision for another route or keep the track open."

Brighton and Hove City Council officers will pay £300,000 to private contractors Mackley to complete the work, the latest in a string of schemes to restore the popular Carousels.

Repairs and strengthening to the site began last Tuesday after engineers discovered brickwork was falling away from the lower promenade during windy weather.

The council set aside £180,000 for renovation work to the Carousel at the beginning of the year when the promenade opposite the Thistle Hotel was closed to pedestrians for two months.

The Carousels is one of the oldest sections of the Kings Road Arches and includes a cafe, penny arcade, sweet shop and a carousel on the promenade outside during the summer.

The site is one of the most photographed attractions in Brighton and the latest repairs will also see the external features reinstated.

A council spokesman said: "(The closure) will not have any effect on the road traffic and a diversionary route will be available for pedestrians and cyclists. We would ask people to bear with us while the repairs are being carried out and hope the inconvenience caused will not be too great."