Council makes 'excellent' housing progress
Cabinet councillors last night (Wednesday, March 25) welcomed significant progress across Eastbourne's new homes development programme and the performance of its frontline housing services.
Councillor Peter Diplock, Cabinet Member for Housing, said: "With fewer than a quarter of local authorities nationwide having built any housing at all over the past decade, the scale of delivery we are achieving in Eastbourne is excellent.
"To be progressing multiple schemes at once - from small community‑led developments to major regeneration projects - demonstrates our commitment to providing high‑quality, affordable homes for local people, even in a very challenging national climate."
Key schemes include Old Orchard Road, where planning permission has been secured for 30 new homes, planned for social rent. A preferred contractor has been selected and a Homes England grant bid has been submitted, with completion targeted for April 2028.
At Biddenden Close, five affordable homes are being taken forward with the Eastbourne Community Land Trust. A preferred contractor has been selected and the scheme is due to complete in February 2027. The General Fund Accommodation Programme, developed to reduce reliance on costly emergency accommodation, now has 16 properties progressing and capacity to deliver more than 30 additional units. Once all units are in use, the programme is expected to generate over £300,000 in annual net savings, driven by the move away from expensive nightly‑paid emergency accommodation and by reducing wider temporary accommodation pressures.
The council has retendered the construction contract for Bedfordwell Road and is now progressing towards appointing a new delivery partner later this year, ensuring the scheme remains on track.
Today also marked the first time a full quarterly performance report on housing has been brought to Cabinet, reflecting the council's strengthened regulatory oversight following last year's C2 rating issued by the Regulator of Social Housing. The grade, awarded in recognition of the council's commitment to delivering quality housing services and its proactive approach to improvement, places the authority among the top third of local authorities in England.
Key highlights from the report include overall tenant satisfaction rising to 77%; strong satisfaction levels in key areas including repairs (81%), building safety (83%) and fairness and respect; 89% of emergency repairs completed on time; call‑handling performance exceeding internal targets; and rent arrears reduced to 2.55%, well below the national average.
The council is preparing to transition to new repairs and maintenance contracts from next month, which have been co‑designed with tenants and are expected to deliver continued improvements in repairs performance, monitoring and customer experience.
Councillor Diplock added: "This progress report shows real improvement across our housing services - from repairs performance to tenant satisfaction and building safety compliance. While there is more to do, the direction of travel is very positive, and we remain fully committed to delivering safe, secure and well‑managed homes for residents across Eastbourne."
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