Eastbourne Corporate Plan

Eastbourne has lived through challenging times in recent years. The covid pandemic, the cost of living crisis, national and international financial pressures and related issues have put real pressure on the borough in many ways. The next four years are our opportunity to respond to these challenges and help Eastbourne to strengthen, rebuild and grow.

This high level plan sets out our ambitions for the coming four years. It will form the basis for detailed work programmes for the delivery of these goals. The work will initially focus on core stability, which will then give us a strong foundation on which to build future growth and prosperity.

The council has always taken a strong community leadership role in the town, and it will continue to do so over the coming years. We are proud of our borough. Despite the challenges of recent years, the town continues to be a notable tourist destination, with much to offer visitors from both at home and abroad. We will continue to enable and support this, understanding that it is in strong collaboration with our partners that we can best meet local and visitor needs.

However, we also recognise that tourism alone is not enough to enable our town to strengthen and flourish. Therefore, this plan sets out how we will work with our partners and communities to ensure a robust and diverse future for the town. We will continue to invest in the economic regeneration of our town, taking advantage of inward investment and partnership opportunities.

Sustainability has been a key driver over the past four years, and this will continue, with our commitment to achieving a carbon net zero town by 2030. However, we recognise that this can only be achieved by continuing to work closely with our partners, businesses and local people. Our partnership work will continue, and we look forward to seeing this grow and develop over the next 4 years.

We are lucky to live in such a beautiful area. Our downland, as well as our parks and gardens, are unique to Eastbourne. We seek to ensure the town and its surrounds continue to be outstanding environments, to be enjoyed by our residents, visitors and by future generations.

The cost of living crisis has taken its toll on our communities. We are committed to continuing to play our part to support those most badly affected and ensure adequate support networks are in place. We also recognise that many people in the town are finding it hard to find suitable accommodation for their needs. We will continue to help support those who are at risk of homelessness or in housing need, along with looking to enable and develop new housing in the town.

The core of what the council does is to provide a range of essential services to our residents. Over the coming four years we will continue to ensure these services are of a consistently high standard. We will continue to make use of technology to increase efficiency, whilst maintaining the personal touch for those most in need of support.

Our focus for the next 4 years in partnership with you is:

1. High quality, responsive services
2. Housing and the cost of living crisis
3. Economic development and tourism
4. Sustainability and environment