Rent increases have forced the closure of a peace campaign centre which has been at the heart of a community for 20 years.

The Brighton Peace Centre has been a long-standing institution in Gardner Street, Brighton, and a source of environmental and humanitarian news.

Managers at the centre decided not to renew their lease after deciding they could no longer afford the rent.

They expected a rent increase above the £13,000 which they were already paying, following a rise from £8,000 several years ago.

The unit has now gone back on the market for £20,000 following the centre's closure.

Duncan Blinkhorn, 40, a volunteer at the centre since it first opened, said the closure was a major loss to the town.

He said: "We were struggling when the rent went up to £13,000 a few years ago.

"For it to go up again is just not feasible on the level of income we get from trading."

He said the managers might try to reopen the centre if they could find more low-cost premises in a less central location.

However, for now the future of the organisation remains uncertain.

Before it shut last Saturday, the centre provided support and information on peace issues, human rights, social justice and various campaigns.

"We ran a fair trade shop which heightened understanding of people's lives in discreet parts of the world, like coffee producing countries.

"For many people it's an important part of what Brighton is all about."

The centre first opened in Kensington Gardens, Brighton, before moving to Trafalgar Street in 1984. After ten years, it relocated to Gardner Street.

Peter Harwood, a commercial agency manager of estate agents Parsons Son and Basley, said the centre was not approached with a figure of £20,000.

However, he said: "We were marketing the building opposite some time before at £20,000.

"If they came to us and entered into negotiations, the rent would have increased but to what amount, I can't say.

"They had the right of renewal. It does boil down to the fact the tenancy holders did not take up another lease because of fears they had that the rent was going to go up."