'Painful' decisions but public toilets and Sovereign Centre protected

With Eastbourne Borough Council's annual spend on temporary accommodation approaching £5 million, the authority has recently completed a comprehensive consultation with residents and community groups about the future of local services.

Councillor Stephen Holt, Leader of Eastbourne Borough Council, said:

"I came into politics to protect the public services and the decisions we have made tonight have been incredibly challenging. I'd like to thank those residents, businesses and groups that have engaged with us as we have addressed the financial challenges due to years of underfunding from national government.

"My thanks also to all the businesses and other organisations that have offered to run council toilets or open their own toilets to the public."

"This developing community toilet scheme, coupled with a council commitment to keep the toilets open at the Pier, Bandstand and Holywell, mean that I remain confident that seafront toilets will stay open as well as many others across Eastbourne too."

Councillors agreed that swimming lessons, school swimming and lane swimming will continue to take place at the Sovereign Centre in the six-lane gala pool, but the old infrastructure and high running costs at the centre mean some changes are needed, including the closure of other pools.

Councillor Holt said:

"The decision to close any pool is painful and deeply regrettable, but a council of our size operating four swimming pools under the same roof simply isn't financially viable anymore.

"The council has been financially supporting the Sovereign Centre for a long time and this decision is taken most reluctantly, but in the context of 266 council run swimming pools closing since 2015, I am pleased that we have developed a business case to keep the gala pool open.

"Our officers have also been working closely with the team at Wave Active to assess a range of new activities for the Sovereign Centre that would prove hugely popular for local families in the future."

Councillors considered other service areas including grounds maintenance, street cleansing, car parking and community grants and highlighted a number of savings already made, such as reducing the grant funding to Towner by £100,000 this year. 

While the council remains committed to street cleansing across the town, Cabinet agreed to put a greater focus on high footfall areas, such as the town centre and seafront and targeting other areas as required. 

Grounds maintenance is also changing, not least because of the sharply rising contract costs in recent years.   The council will work closely with friends groups and volunteers to help nurture parks and gardens, encouraging greater biodiversity, managing access to key locations and exploring sponsorship opportunities.  The responsibility for verge cutting will also be handed back to East Sussex County Council, along with weed control on pavements. 

Car parking charges will increase, but in most cases will remain lower than other parking facilities in the same area.

Councillor Stephen Holt added:

"These are incredibly difficult decisions that have been forced upon us, but I am very pleased that our community grant to Citizens Advice will be maintained. They play a pivotal role in helping people in the town to access benefits, housing and expert advice and prove a lifeline to many every day.

"Regrettably, councils all over the UK and of all political colours are having to make the same decisions as we are in Eastbourne to balance their books.  We have seen the numbers of people needing temporary accommodation rise steeply in recent years, due in the greatest part to the cost of living crisis, leaving many residents unable to meet their mortgage and rent payments.

"Without taking this action now, the consequences would be even more severe. We will continue to campaign for additional funding to support and safeguard local services and I repeat my appeal to the new government to provide us with specific support to lessen the impact on Eastbourne residents."

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