REVIEW: Battle Abbey
Is this where the Brexit vote came from? The spot where King Harold was slain by the invading Norman French 957 years ago. William of Normandy was respectful of where his enemy died, so a stone tablet marks the place. Standing on the ridge of Senlac Hill, one strains to imagine thousands of Anglo-Saxon […]
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SPOTLIGHT: Who gives up their weekends to clear rubbish?
Many of us would consider litter picking to involve a little light collecting of discarded crisp packets, drinks cans and coffee cups. But eight shopping trolleys, part of a car door, a handbag, toilet brush, dozens and dozens of cans, a plastic utensil holder, clothing, two useable toolboxes and a cycle wheel were among the […]
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SPOTLIGHT: How people power saved Fisherman’s Green
The controversy over plans to earmark the seafront site for housebuilding involved thousands of residents’ objections and the intervention of a Cabinet minister. It has now been taken off the list. We unpick what happened and talk to the women who successfully campaigned against the proposals Fiona Mullen and her neighbours had prepared for a […]
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SPOTLIGHT: How safe is our sea water?
We plunge into the murky waters of storm overflow – or sewage dumping, depending on your point of view, for a long read on what is happening to our coast. We talk to those on both sides of the argument about how Southern Water operates the sewerage system as we examine the controversy. The quality […]
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SPOTLIGHT: Housing allocation set to be halved
Several potential development sites involving hundreds of homes are set to be removed from the Eastbourne Local Plan after Cabinet Minister Michael Gove indicated there would not be sanctions for doing so. Eastbourne Borough Council says it is likely to scrap plans to develop Fisherman’s Green on the seafront, low-lying sites, Sovereign Harbour and University […]
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REVIEW: Déjà Vu restaurant
There are probably many corners of Eastbourne still redolent of the 1950s, despite the shiny allure of 2023 with its new-fangled shopping centre and block-paved bus lanes. And there’s nothing wrong with a solid bit of yesteryear when it’s bathed in a golden glow. That was when you had conversations with people while looking at […]
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SPOTLIGHT: Revamp for bandstand seats
More than 800 teak folding chairs are being sanded and varnished by offenders ready for the re-opening of the bandstand in the spring. A group working unpaid as part of the community payback scheme are painstakingly sanding and painting each chair behind the bandstand. A spokesman for Eastbourne Borough Council said: “It’s not actually costing […]
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SPOTLIGHT: Cycling by the sea still a distant prospect
NO solution to the decades-long quest for a safe cycle route along Eastbourne seafront appears imminent, despite an urgent need to offer viable alternatives to car use. East Sussex County Council (ESCC), which is the highways authority, said it is “committed to delivering a continuous cycle route” but that it “cannot be delivered in the […]
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SPOTLIGHT: Who goes sea swimming in January?
AS THE cold snap persists and daytime temperatures barely edge above zero, most of us wrap up in thermal layers to take a few lungfuls of cold air before scuttling back to central heating. But there are people, who can be glimpsed on the beach, who take a very different view. The members of Eastbourne […]
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REVIEW: Bistrot Pierre
The mantra ‘location, location, location’ does not only apply to where you live, as Kirsty and Phil of the Channel 4 house-hunting show of the same name stipulate. It’s pretty crucial with eating out too. Whether it’s handy for public transport if you’re well refreshed or not overlooking a row of bins down a dark […]
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