Premier Marinas is investing £800,000 in purchasing a brand new dredger at its Brighton site, home to more than 1,200 boats.

In a bid to take control of dredging in the East Sussex marina, the machine has been specifically designed for dredging below and between bridgeheads, pontoons and fingers.

The marina is expecting the new machinery to arrive at the end of November and the company hopes it will allow them to undertake extra works to complement the current annual dredging programme.

In addition to these developments, Premier Marinas has been granted with a 10-year licence by the Marine Management Organisation, which allows dredged material to be pumped directly to the dispersal site where it is introduced into the ecosystem.

Premier Marinas managing director Peter Bradshaw said: “Deploying our own dredger will enable us to carry out dredging more frequently in a way that is less disruptive to the day to day operations at the marina.

“Moreover, we hope it demonstrates our commitment to investing in our marinas and working in partnership with national and local governing bodies”.

Over the past two years Premier Marinas has invested more than £1.5 million in upgrades at Brighton Marina, including pontoon and finger replacement works, new electricity supplies to pontoons, a new lock pontoon and security improvements.

Premier Marinas has also invested in its onsite maintenance team, which now has four permanent staff dedicated to keeping the marina clean and in order.