SPOTLIGHT: Steep paths at Sovereign Harbour create access problems
People using mobility scooters and powered wheelchairs face using steep, difficult-to-access paths when travelling around Sovereign Harbour in Eastbourne. The Bay and Eastbourne Rollers friendship group, which meets for days out in the area, is concerned that members on wheels are at risk near the harbour’s locks. Harbour owner Premier Marinas recently cleared two areas […]
SPOTLIGHT: Is the British Queen the most generous pub in Eastbourne?
It’s a cold, grey late winter midweek lunchtime but the bar at The British Queen pub on Willingdon Triangle is a welcome refuge for workers thirsty for a pint and friends dining and laughing. This very traditional pub has a relaxed atmosphere as people leave phones in their pockets and socialise, bantering with manager Angela […]
SPOTLIGHT: Residents hold ‘amicable’ meeting about ‘over-the-top’ flats plan
Sheltering on the east side of Martello Tower 66 from a howling southwesterly, Frances Lawrence and Caroline Lynam are philosophical about the fenced-off area nearby. It’s the site of a proposed seven-storey development of around 130 retirement apartments overlooking the sea on the western edge of Sovereign Harbour. The planning application by developer Untold Living, […]
REVIEW: Taking the plunge with Eastbourne Alive
Silent concentration was interspersed with ‘oooh’s of delight and ‘oh’s of resignation as a group of us gathered for a printing workshop in the empty Motcombe Pool caretaker’s house in Eastbourne Old Town. We were experiencing the unpredictable process of printing using a flexible silicone gel plate rollered with paint then imprinted with images or […]
SPOTLIGHT: Council leader objects to Sovereign Harbour scheme
The leader of Eastbourne Borough Council is among hundreds of objectors to a plan to build 137 retirement apartments next to the beach at Sovereign Harbour. Coun Stephen Holt wrote in his objection to his own council’s planning department that the development, which would be four metres higher than neighbouring blocks, was not in keeping […]
SPOTLIGHT: Residents left stranded for weeks by broken lift at flats
UPDATED 16 January 2024 with comment from FirstPort The lift in an Eastbourne block of flats which stopped working before Christmas, forcing elderly and disabled residents to walk up and down as many as 90 stairs, has finally been repaired. Three weeks after residents reported the problem at Penshurst House on Groombridge Avenue, it was […]
SPOTLIGHT: Council agrees five-year lease for Fort Fun
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 […]
SPOTLIGHT: Energy project could bring 50,000 solar panels to Eastbourne Levels
Part of the Eastbourne Levels could be covered in 50,000 solar panels if planning permission is approved for a renewable energy project in a multi-million pound deal, a public meeting heard. The land, owned by the Duke of Devonshire, covers an 80-acre site currently used for livestock grazing. The solar panels could be positioned east […]
SPOTLIGHT: Could Eastbourne have more 20mph speed limits?
Campaigners for a 20mph limit in residential areas have dismissed claims by East Sussex County Council that it would require “significant and costly traffic management measures” to put in place. The introduction of 20mph speed limit areas in Eastbourne still seems a distant prospect, despite widespread support from political parties, residents and businesses. An alliance […]
SPOTLIGHT: Visions of greener transport in Eastbourne
Car-free, elegant public spaces in the town centre, frequent buses, and safe cycling for families and commuters was the vision presented at a sustainable transport summit in Eastbourne. There was consensus that the current situation could not continue: car dependency, daily traffic jams, gridlocked roundabouts, unreliable buses, driving speeds which endanger pedestrians, and few safe […]