Brighton and Hove built-up area
The Brighton/Worthing/Littlehampton conurbation has a population of 461,181 (2001 census), making it the 12th largest conurbation in the United Kingdom and England's 10th largest. Named the Brighton/Worthing/Littlehampton conurbation by the Office for National Statistics, the area has also been known as "Greater Brighton". The conurbation dominates West and East Sussex, with around 1 in 3 of Sussex's population living within its boundaries. It is also the largest conurbation in the South East region of England and the largest conurbation on the English Channel coast, in either England or France. It is also the largest conurbation in England outside of London not to be represented in the English Core Cities Group.
The Brighton/Worthing/Littlehampton conurbation is also the UK's most densely populated major conurbation outside of London with 4901.5 people per km².[1] This is primarily due to its tight boundaries between the South Downs, a proposed national park to the north, and the English Channel to the south.
The city of Brighton and Hove contributes just over half the population of the conurbation.
The conurbation's population is made up of the following settlements from west to east as defined by the Office for National Statistics (2001 population in brackets):
Places in the conurbation
The conurbation contains the following places, from west to east along the coast. The total distance in a straight line from the western edge of Littlehampton to the eastern edge of Saltdean is between 23 and 24 miles. Along the shore or by road, it is slightly further.
- Littlehampton (including Angmering and Ferring) (55,716)
- Worthing (96,964)
- Findon (1,720)
- Sompting/Lancing (30,360)
- Shoreham (17,537)
- Southwick (11,281)
- Portslade* (19,564)
- Hove* (72,335)
- Brighton* (134,293)
- Rottingdean*/Saltdean* (21,411)
* Part of the the larger city of Brighton & Hove.
There are some small gaps that help maintain distinct identities of places in the conurbation, although in places, the settlements coalesce:
- Goring Gap between Ferring and Goring/Worthing
- Sompting Gap between Worthing and Sompting
- Brooklands Park between Worthing and Lancing
- Lancing Gap between Lancing and Shoreham
- Matt Walker
Nearby places
Settlements very close to the conurbation but not included in the official statistics include the towns of Peacehaven (separated from Brighton by Telscombe Tye, a small open space), Newhaven (joined to Peacehaven, population 11,000) and Seaford (separated from Newhaven by the River Ouse, population 22,000).