CHEAPER parking and less expensive hotel rooms were the major factors behind organisers of the country's largest bridge event decision to move the event away from Brighton.

The English Bridge Union’s Summer Congress has been held in Brighton for 48 of the last 49 times, but the city has been shunned over costs for the 2016 event celebrating the organisation's 50th year.

At this year's bash in August more than 1,500 attended the weekend at the Brighton Metropole in Kingsway.

So the move to Eastbourne means the council will miss out on more than £90,000 in parking costs alone when the venue shifts to the Winter Gardens for 2016.

Peter Stockdale, bridge union secretary, said: “The contract was up with the Metropole, so before we went through the renewal process we decided to canvas our members and get their opinions on other possible options.

“ It became obvious from feedback that Brighton and Hove was becoming increasingly expensive.

“They wanted to stay in a coastal resort and after doing some looking around, Eastbourne was the best choice.

“Essentially it comes down to the prices of parking and hotels.

“Brighton and Hove has become the home of the congress, so we were disappointed to have had to leave as were many members, but we need to do what our members want and the majority of them wanted a cheaper contest.

“Car transport is very important to our members so they’ll be saving a significant amount on parking.

“Parking alone will save them £20 a day in Eastbourne, and some members stay for 10 to 12 days, so that all adds up.”

A Brighton and Hove City Council spokeswoman said the city continues to be a popular destination for conferences.

She said: “Demand for hotels is high in the height of summer because of leisure tourism.

“There is also the option of visiting out of season when hotel rates will be lower.

“Parking charges on the seafront reduce by half during the winter months.

“There are year-round discounted and reduced parking choices for visitors. These include hotel guest permits and cheaper overnight parking in car parks. Parking for the city centre is in high demand and cheaper in the outlying areas where it is easy to combine with public transport.

“In Hove there are lower on-street parking charges and some hotel visitors can take advantage of free Sunday parking in Norton Road car park.

“London Road is well served by both bus and train and the car park offers lower parking charges compared with the city centre car parks, as well as discounted parking through a weekly ticket option.”

The Argus:

I'D MUCH RATHER COME TO THIS DYNAMIC CITY - Opinion by Jeremy Ogden

IT’S concerning. Yes, hotels are slightly more expensive in Brighton than in Eastbourne, but it’s £10 or £20 and that’s it.

Would I rather come to Brighton? Absolutely.

It’s got far more to offer in terms of restaurants, attractions, the seafront and it’s a much more dynamic city with more to see and do.

We’ve got more than enough bedstock in the city that could offer them what they want at a price they can pay, but the bigger issue is parking.

In Kemp Town, where I’m based, we fought the council two or three years ago and now you can park there for £10.40 for essentially 24 hours.

I think that’s reasonable, but we can’t compete with Eastbourne.

The transport system in the city is pretty good and I think the hotel offering is a lot better.

The parking is an issue we’ve known about for some time and it affects not only tourists but residents and businesses as well.

It is expensive to park here and it’s something the council needs to address because I know it’s a significant factor on people coming here.

As we go forward with the tourism strategy, we have to think of ways of making it more palatable and easier for people to get into the city and if they do bring their cars that it’s not criminally expensive.

I invite all my customers to come down on the train if they can.

It’s not helped in my area that a lot of the parking at Madeira Drive arches is restricted.

Parking has been an issue before and this is the first time it has really come to a head since.

It sends a serious message that we need to think about it.

You look at the Labour Conference and it’s been a huge success and nobody is ripping anybody off.

But it’s hugely important to the economy and the city generally, so if we lose these conferences, it’s very significant.

I’d hate to think we’re losing them because of parking, but if that is the case, the council really have to get their heads together and get something sorted because it would be hugely damaging to the economy.

There’s no doubt the biggest gripe from our visitors is parking, it’s something that needs to be addressed going forward.

It’s a big problem because it’s expensive.

If you’re here two days you can end up paying £50 just for the pleasure of bringing your car and it’s money on top of hotels and all the other things in quite an expensive city.

It’s just another cost on what is already an expensive weekend.

  • By Jeremy Ogden, chairman of the Brighton and Hove Hoteliers Association and vice chairman of the tourism advisory board.