The Greater Brighton City Deal will unlock more than £170m of investment while supporting improvements to local flood defences.

Expected to create 8,500 jobs, the Deal expects to unlock key regeneration and employment sites by allowing local business partners to guarantee the start dates for flood defence work at Shoreham and Newhaven in return for a contribution.

Work will also take place to establish the region as a major centre for creative and technological business, aiming to replicate the concentration of companies in London’s Tech City with a ‘Silicon Beach’.

Deputy prime minister Nick Clegg said: ‘We’re giving Brighton the freedom, power and tools to be really innovative and design whole new ways of building a stronger economy and fairer society.

‘This City Deal puts power in the hands of local people who know best what skills are needed in the area to give it a real chance of changing the fortunes of thousands of people in and around Brighton.’

Tech companies will be offered cheaper and faster broadband through a Digital Exchange, which allows businesses to use their combined buying power to boost Internet speeds.

Some £6.7m of investment in Greater Brighton will come from central government, with £9.8m being provided by the public sector and at least £155m from private companies.

Minister for cities, Greg Clark, said: ‘Brighton’s tech cluster has grown from very little 10 years ago to having 1,500 businesses today.

‘It’s already making a huge impact on Brighton’s economic performance, and this City Deal will help accelerate its growth by ensuring that it can provide the space and infrastructure for high-value creative-technological businesses to grow.’