Overnight deep cleans could be introduced to Brighton & Hove this spring

Proposals for overnight deep cleans of the city’s busiest streets will be discussed by councillors later this month.

It is the latest in a series of steps to improve the look and feel of the city and follows the creation of the City Centre Manager post in September 2025.

The overnight team would be focussed on activities that are difficult to do during the day when businesses are open and the streets are busy. This includes jet-washing, graffiti removal and repainting street furniture.

The council’s Cabinet will discuss the recommendations for an overnight cleaning team when it meets on Thursday 19 March. If approved, the new team would likely be in place in May. The hope is that following this approach would over time provide very visible and noticeable improvements, particularly in the city centre.

The work will be directed by the City Centre Manager, a role created to take a ‘whole place’ approach and coordinate multiple council teams and partners, as well as working closely with businesses, residents, community groups.

The daytime team would remain responsible for ongoing essential work, including clearing litter, responding to fly-tipping and maintaining hygiene and safety standards in public spaces.

It is a model already successfully adopted by other councils, including Westminster.

Any potential noise impact would be carefully managed, and the team would be moving around the city and so would not be in the same locations for extended periods.

Councillor Tim Rowkins, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Net Zero and Environmental Services, said: “We know that our residents and businesses want a cleaner city centre, and we are determined to deliver just that. Introducing an overnight team will add significant capacity and resources and will, over time, make a striking difference to the look and feel of the city.

“It is something that is common in other European cities with similarly high visitor numbers and we’ve seen it working well elsewhere in the UK.

“People love visiting Brighton & Hove and we have an incredibly vibrant night-time economy. All of that has a big impact on the city centre and, like any good host, we need to clean up properly after the party.

“Introducing an overnight team and prioritising regular deep cleans will help us achieve just that.”