A popular seafront cafe will close for 18 months while sea defence works take place.

But Brighton and Hove Council hopes to replace it as part of a £10 million plan.

The cafe at Ovingdean Gap will close throughout the project to repair the Undercliff Walk and sea wall between Ovingdean and the marina. The walkway itself will also be shut between the two locations.

Brighton and Hove City Council is applying to the Government for a grant to cover costs. The bid will include a request for cash to replace the cafe, toilets and a row of brick-built chalets.

If the government will not fund a new cafe, the old one will reopen.

Many heavy storms in recent years have battered the 70-year-old sea defences, causing parts of the wall to fall into the sea and shifting the walkway's concrete slabs.

A council spokesman said: "We're all going to miss the cafe while it's shut as it's a local institution.

"But this is vital work to prevent the sea eventually destroying the walkway and undermining the cliff.

"We would certainly welcome money for a new cafe, toilets and beach huts as it would make a much-loved location even better."

He said the council expected to negotiate with the present cafe operators about running the new outlet.

The scheme is part of wider plans to repair sea defences between Saltdean and the marina. The Saltdean to Ovingdean section has been completed at a cost of around £12m over the last decade.