You can park in a parking bay on any street whatsoever (where cars are allowed - not bus lanes of course), where the restrictions end by 8pm. The signs tell you.
Just read the signs and avoid those that have no time on them (sorry to state the obvious, but no time at all on a sign, means 24/7 restriction - e.g. 'permit holders only' with no times displayed at all is a no-no). You can even do a virtual tour on Google Street view first. That's what I do when visiting unknown cities, e.g. when taking my kids to University, I do a virtual tour to find a place to park, and almost never use any car parks.
Isn't that what people do when planning an away trip by car, just have a look at the streets nearby on GSV and find the unrestricted places that some/most cities do have?
Brighton has very little during the day but after 8pm why use car parks unless it's a very busy Saturday night with no bays free?