Regeneration plans scaled back due to rising costs

Plans to improve Eastbourne town centre are being scaled back because of rising costs.

On Monday, Claire Dowling, East Sussex County Council’s lead member for transport and environment, agreed to "descope" plans to improve the town centre by removing proposals to create a new civic space in Terminus Road.

The first phase of the project, which included major improvements to the area around the town’s railway station and Beacon Shopping Centre, was completed in 2020.

In a report to Ms Dowling, officers said the project had faced “significant unexpected budget increases” since its funding was first secured in 2019.

The increases were the result of rising inflation and specific cost jumps in the construction sector, the report said.

The total budget for the project is more than £6m, of which almost £2.5m has already been spent, the Local Democracy Reporting Service says.

Officers said the remaining budget was not enough to do everything in the original proposals.

The next phase was expected to see more pedestrianisation of Terminus Road including the creation of the new civic space, which would have involved the closure of a one-way section of road connecting Bolton Road to Langney Road.

Eastbourne councillor David Tutt said he was "somewhat surprised and wrong-footed" by the report.

During the meeting, Mr Tutt called on Ms Dowling to delay her decision, arguing the council needed to give residents and businesses a greater say in its next steps.

But officers warned a delay could result in the project needing further amendments, should costs continue to rise.

Ms Dowling said: “My concern is, if we do what has been suggested … if and when it comes back we might not be able to afford what we are doing now.

"What we are doing at the moment is we are looking to complete the first bit.

“That bit is desperate for regeneration. It is so desperate and to hold it up, I think, would be a mistake.”

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