£1 Whitehawk Link Bus Fare Extended to March 2027 as Pride in Place Board Sets Out Its Plans
Brighton and Hove buses in the city centre, while the £1 Whitehawk Link fare applies on routes 1 and 21 within the Whitehawk zone
The £1 Whitehawk Link bus fare has been extended to 31 March 2027, six months longer than planned. The offer was due to end on 30 September, and almost 16,000 journeys have been made on it since it launched at the start of July, according to Brighton & Hove City Council. It lets people make a single journey on the 1 and 21 services within the Whitehawk zone for £1, and it is funded through the council's Local Authority Bus Grant, which is worth £1.4 million in 2026/27. The council links the fare to Whitehawk's place in the government's Pride in Place programme, which gives the area access to up to £20 million of investment over 10 years.
This article covers how the fare works, what the council's research found, what else the same grant pays for, and where Pride in Place stands in Whitehawk, including its Neighbourhood Board, the grants it has agreed and two maps of the area the programme covers.
How the £1 Whitehawk Link works
The Whitehawk Link began on Wednesday 1 July as a three-month trial for people living and working in the Whitehawk area. It allows a single journey on the 1 and 21 services within the Whitehawk zone for £1. The council's launch announcement says the zone applies if you are travelling to or from the Marina or the Lidl on Arundel Road and you get on or off route 21 between Maresfield Road and Roedean Road, or route 1 between Arundel Road and Swanborough Drive.
The £1 fare can be paid by tap on and tap off, by mobile or in cash on board. The council says more information about fares is on the Brighton & Hove Buses website.
What the research found
Research carried out during the pilot suggests the fare is helping people make more everyday journeys, according to the council's announcement of the extension.
- 19% to 29%Journeys to shops and other services, as a share of respondents, before the pilot and during it
- 5% to 16%Trips to visit friends and family, as a share of respondents, before the pilot and during it
The council says the research also suggests the fare is helping to tackle concerns about the cost of travel. Councillor Trevor Muten, Cabinet member for Transport and City Infrastructure, said:
We're delighted to extend the Whitehawk Link fare offer and help residents continue to benefit from cheaper bus travel. We've committed to helping city families and young people get to school, education or employment.
Matt Ashton, Managing Director of Brighton & Hove Buses, said the company is supporting the extension as part of the Bus Service Improvement Plan partnership:
We hope the extended offer will make it easier and more affordable for people in the area to travel by bus to local facilities and shops.
Where the money comes from
The council is spending around £1.4 million in 2026/27 from the Department for Transport's Local Authority Bus Grant on making fares more affordable. Alongside the Whitehawk Link, the council says the grant is currently supporting four other things:
- Free travel for care leavers
A three-month pilot from September giving care leavers aged 18 to 24 free bus travel, which the council says will benefit more than 200 young people. See our earlier article and the council's announcement. - Free travel for children
Up to four children under 19 travel free with a fare-paying adult, which the council says amounts to around one million free journeys this year. We covered the August free travel offer separately. - Breeze Up to the Downs
The services linking people with the South Downs, which we covered in our guide to exploring green spaces by bus. - Travel Shop citySAVER tickets
In-person tickets continue to match online prices, so that digital exclusion does not stop anyone paying a fair fare.
Pride in Place in Whitehawk
Pride in Place is a government programme that its prospectus describes as backed by up to £5.8 billion over 10 years across 284 communities, with up to £20 million of funding and support for each place over a decade. The council's Pride in Place page says the government selected Whitehawk and that a Neighbourhood Board will work with the community to develop a 10-year vision and an initial four-year investment plan.
The Whitehawk Neighbourhood Board has two co-chairs, Donna Whitehead and Kane Louis. Its terms of reference say the board has 12 to 14 members and must include the local MP, at least one ward councillor and at least three people under 23, and that at least 51% of members should live or work in Whitehawk. The board is not a legal entity, and Brighton & Hove City Council is the accountable body for the funding.
The boundary, and the two maps
The board agreed its final boundary on 14 July, adding the Bristol and Manor Road Estates to the original area, according to the minutes of that meeting. The map in the minutes' appendix shows the original boundary in blue and the proposed additions in red.
Appendix 1 to the 14 July board minutes: the original Pride in Place boundary in blue and the proposed additions in red
The boundary map the council now publishes on its board documents page runs along Eastern Road at the south of the area.
The Whitehawk Pride in Place boundary map published by Brighton & Hove City Council
What the board has decided so far
The board's published minutes from 14 July, 27 July and 1 September record a series of decisions.
- A community engagement specialist
The minutes record 18 expressions of interest received through the procurement portal and tender documents now issued. A working group of board members will evaluate bids and shortlist three, and the board agreed to prioritise organisations with local knowledge and connections. The minutes say the aim is to bring in voices that have not previously been heard, and that the work needs to be finished by early November to support the plan. - Quick Wins grants
Community Pride Grants of up to £1,000 per project and Capital and Facility Improvement Grants of up to £10,000 per project, with a total budget of £100,000. The minutes record a launch on 14 September and a closing date moved from 12 October to 31 October, with decisions at a special board meeting after it closes. Video applications are allowed, AI can be used if declared, and the first round is a pilot. The minutes name two organisations, TDC and the Resource Centre, as recommended sources of help with applications. They do not say where to apply, so residents can ask the Pride in Place team at prideinplace@brighton-hove.gov.uk. - The Pride in Place plan
The plan is due to government by 30 November 2026. The board's 2 November meeting has been moved to leave time for engagement and writing, with a collaborative plan-writing session preferred between 10 and 17 November 2026. - Support from the council
The 27 July minutes record the co-chairs agreeing a £50,000 fee with the council for secretariat support. The board intends to employ its own secretariat from early 2027, and members agreed that this support should move away from the council in the medium term. - Meetings
The next board meeting is on Wednesday 7 October from 6pm to 8pm, planned for the Bristol Estate Community Room, which the minutes mark as to be confirmed. The board has decided all future meetings should have a hybrid option and that board documents should be made public.
What board members said they want
At its 27 July meeting the board was asked what it hopes to achieve. The minutes record members raising health inequality, with one noting that life expectancy is 10 years below the national average, access to school meals, travel and after-school clubs, improvements to community hubs such as the Valley Community Centre, and quick wins such as planting, lighting and murals.
They also record members saying previous consultations have not always led to visible change, and that memories of earlier funding programmes, especially eB4U, still foster distrust. Ahead of a Meet the Board session on 5 August, the minutes record Donna Whitehead saying the co-chairs' motivations had been challenged at an earlier meeting and warning members not to expect everyone to be positive.
How to get involved
The council's programme timetable runs community engagement from April to October 2026 and submission of the plan to government in November 2026. Residents can contact the Pride in Place team at prideinplace@brighton-hove.gov.uk, and the council publishes the board's minutes on its board minutes and documents page.
Read the documents
Every document used for this article is below, and each can be opened or downloaded directly.
Brighton & Hove City Council: The Whitehawk Link launch announcement
Pride in Place board minutes, 1 September 2026
Pride in Place board minutes, 27 July 2026
Pride in Place board minutes, 14 July 2026
Whitehawk Neighbourhood Board terms of reference
Download the terms of reference (PDF)
Whitehawk Pride in Place boundary map
Download the boundary map (PDF)
Pride in Place Programme prospectus on GOV.UK
Pride in Place gives the board until 30 November to put a 10-year vision and a four-year investment plan to government, and the engagement work meant to shape it is due to finish in early November.
More from ImJustBrighton
→ Free Bus Travel for Brighton and Hove Care Leavers From September
→ Free bus travel for children across Brighton and Hove this August
→ Hop on, venture out: explore Brighton and Hove's green spaces by bus
