- Indoor soft play area to be refurbished under five-year lease at seafront site
- Defiant Sports no longer allowed by council to use site
- An environmental scheme in partnership with the Eden Project is still the long-term aim
The long-derelict Fort Fun site on Eastbourne seafront is scheduled to partially re-open by Easter with an indoor play area.
But the former water park section, which had been earmarked for inclusive activities by Defiant Sports, will now instead be grassed over by Eastbourne Borough Council.
The council has decided to award a five-year lease to leisure and hospitality company Wingrove House to develop the play area and renovate the adventure golf course (below).
The short-term arrangement is understood to be in place because the council hopes that the Eden Project will eventually create an environmental feature on the site.
The planned project at various sites in and near the town, including Fort Fun, was first revealed four years ago. An outline has been put forward by Eden, which operates an innovative global garden in a former Cornish clay pit, but it has not been costed.
“We would settle for anything that tidies it up.”
Coun colin swansborough
Fort Fun has been plagued by vandalism with damage to the mini golf area, signs, a decorative totem pole and security lights. Perimeter gates are repeatedly broken down.
This constant damage was cited by the council as the reason for the delay to refurbishing the site and re-opening. The Eastbourne Reporter’s feature written after visiting the site in July can be read here.
But Defiant Sports, which had been working on clearing the water park area for many months, has accused the council of breaking its promise to them.
Loretta Lock (above), of Defiant, said in a Facebook video posted just after Christmas: “After months of delays, broken promises and jumping through hoops, we have been told that the council has changed its mind.
“The decision was out of our hands and non-negotiable.”
She told the Eastbourne Reporter: “We put a lot of time and effort into looking for funding for the site. Now I’m looking for a part-time job just to pay the bills.”
Defiant has a short-term hub at nearby Sovereign Harbour with sports facilities, a community area and sensory room in a former retail unit but Ms Lock had hoped to move to the Fort Fun site.
Coun Colin Swansborough (above), Cabinet member for Community Spaces, told the Eastbourne Reporter: “We would settle for anything that tidies it up. The boundary will stay the same and the council will seed and turf the water park area.”
In a statement released by the council, Coun Swansborough was quoted as saying: “I greatly respect the role played by Defiant Sports and their commitment to facilitating greater sporting inclusivity in the town.
“The council’s strategic property board met to consider the current situation at Fort Fun and assess the best options for a reopening in 2024. The board is made up of a cross-party group of councillors.
“Unfortunately, the site has been the target of vandalism and anti-social behaviour over the last year, and this has significantly hampered and delayed efforts to complete the necessary refurbishments.
“With a view to reopening Fort Fun in spring 2024, the board decided that Wingrove House is best placed to focus its resources on achieving this and terms for a five-year lease have been agreed with them.
“I understand why Defiant Sports is disappointed by this decision, but the board also reaffirmed its determination to assist them in achieving their objectives in 2024.”
The Strategic Property Board is an outside body which advises the council on commercial property.
The three councillors on the board are Lib Dem council leader Stephen Holt, Lib Dem councillor Robin Maxted and Conservative group leader Robert Smart.
Coun Smart told the Eastbourne Reporter he believed it was important to take a strategic, long-term view of the site while also helping Defiant find new premises.
He said that any use of Fort Fun in the meantime was far from perfect.
He said: “I am very strongly a supporter of what the Eden Project could do for Eastbourne. All the councillors are very, very excited by it. I have persuaded others we should not enter into a long-term lease on Fort Fun.
“Clearly the council must support Defiant Sports in finding a suitable location, but I am looking at the situation at a strategic level.”
Wingrove House operates nearby Treasure Island adventure park, the Beach Deck restaurant, cafes and kiosks along Eastbourne seafront, the Plough and Harrow pub in Litlington, as well as Wingrove House hotel and restaurant in Alfriston.
The company is renovating the existing large building, pictured above during clearance work in summer 2023, to recreate a soft play area for younger children with café and toilets.
It also plans to renovate the mini golf course on the eastern end of the site and will dismantle the outdoor climbing frame near the road, which is too dangerous to use.
Ben Porter (below), a director of Wingrove House, told the Eastbourne Reporter that the revamped adventure golf section will take longer to finish and may not be open for summer.
But he said new windows, shutters, interior CCTV and internet had been installed in the play area. The kitchen, reception area and toilets will be fitted once the lease is signed.
He added: “We all desperately want to clear it up because at the moment it is just a playground for vandalism. Our objective is to stop the vandalism and make it nice.”
Mr Porter added that he hoped to offer quieter play times and sensory sessions to increase the facility’s inclusivity. He has estimated that his company will be spending at least £100,000 on the site.
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Where you’ve written “Coun”, I assume you mean “Cllr”? That’s the proper abbreviation for “Councillor”, and I would have thought an “experienced journalist” like the one who has written this article, should know that.
It entirely depends on the house style of the publication. I choose to use ‘Coun’ as this is the style all the news organisations I have worked for used. Others may think differently, which is fine. Thank you for your interest.