SPOTLIGHT: Coast lovers join sea swimmers in sewage protest march
Some 200 people joined a march along Eastbourne seafront over May Bank Holiday weekend to protest against the use by Southern Water of storm overflows. The protesters walked from near the Wish Tower to the beach at the Langham Hotel on Sunday, waving placards and chanting: “Stop the sewage, save our seas!” The organisers then handed […]
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A Day in the Life: the co-ordinator of a community food project
Name: Sally Lee Role: Project co-ordinator of Rooted Community Food How long I’ve been doing this: Six months How I got here: Through an accumulation of factors, but mostly because I found it increasingly difficult to witness what we are allowing to happen to our beautiful planet. I had been a climate activist for a […]
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SPOTLIGHT: Three sisters rise to the occasion
WE talk to the family who have brought European-style bread and pastries to the East Sussex coast as they mark the first anniversary of their town centre shop It’s slice, weigh, knead, shape, repeat at To The Rise Bakery, Eastbourne. It’s soothing and hypnotic to watch 23-year-old Morgan Pollard preparing dozens of sourdough loaves as […]
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SPOTLIGHT: ‘Water companies have been getting away with blue murder’
As Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey visits Eastbourne, we ask him about the sewage spill controversy and what he would do to address the issue Sir Ed is a busy man this month – and has a pair of wellies in the car boot to cover all eventualities. He is touring areas where his […]
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SPOTLIGHT: Sea swimmers make waves over sewage spills
A TOP executive at Southern Water took the plunge into the chilly waters with sea swimmers in Eastbourne when he met them to face questions about sewage discharges. Dr Toby Willison (below), the director of environment and corporate affairs, swam for a few minutes on Saturday before emerging to declare: “It was a bit cold, […]
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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: 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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SPOTLIGHT: ‘I am human. I want to study and I want to work’, says asylum seeker in Eastbourne
AS controversy continues about the placement of asylum seekers in hotels around the country – including at six hotels in Eastbourne – I spoke to one young Iraqi who has arrived on the East Sussex coast after a tortuous two-year journey across Europe. ALI is 22 years old. He tells me his story of endurance, […]
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