A KITESURFING star, a top chef and business owners came together to relaunch a seaside town as the place to be.

Popular figures gathered at the Dome Cinema in Worthing to kick off Time For Worthing, a campaign to attract businesses and tourists to the borough.

Adverts singing the praises of the town will appear in Gatwick Airport and London Victoria railway station.

At Monday’s event, Worthing Borough Council regeneration chief Councillor Kevin Jenkins admitted the town had previously been perceived as slightly dull.

But he believes attitudes towards the town have changed.

“For many years people may have seen Worthing as being rather dull, as that place by the sea somewhere between A and B on the coast, somewhere down from London,” Cllr Jenkins said.

“But in recent years that has altered and is continuing to change fast.

“That’s why I am so excited by this brilliant and confident new place brand, Time For Worthing.

“It reflects the Worthing of today, capturing the spirit, uniqueness and future opportunities for the town.”

Worthing resident and former British kitesurfing champion Lewis Crathern called the town “literally the best place I can live”.

“Worthing is one of the top destinations in the world to do kite boarding,” he said.

“Not only are the conditions absolutely amazing for water sports, we have great access to the ocean, good parking and the beaches are clean.

“It’s also great for my business: there are very creative people here I can work with and there is great access to London and Gatwick via the train network.”

Meanwhile MasterChef winner and Pitch restaurant owner Kenny Tutt said Worthing was “coming to life”.

“I’ve always had a soft spot for the town my family moved to 25 years ago,” he said.

“I remember once looking down from the South Downs and thinking ‘what a stunning place’.

“In business terms it also has the produce and the supplies which made it a really perfect spot to set up our first business.”

A new Time For Worthing website has been launched to raise the town’s profile.

It highlights a number of planned projects in the area including the luxury £45 million Bayside apartments in Brighton Road.

The website also highlights 150 pioneering eco-homes to be built in Fulbeck Avenue by Ikea-owned developer BoKlok.

Chief executive Jonas Spangenberg said the decision to begin the pioneering project in Worthing was an “easy choice”.

“We’re developing more than 150 low-cost homes in Fulbeck Avenue, West Worthing, in our first UK project,” he said.

“When we scouted for land in the South of England, we got a such a good, positive vibe from dealing and talking to the council.

“It was an easy choice for us.”

A number of high-profile developments are planned for Worthing in the near future.

Restaurant chain Bistrot Pierre is set to open build a branch on the seafront.