Spending millions on Eastbourne bandstand before coastal defence project would be ‘complete waste of money’, says council

The project, which aims to keep the town safe from rising sea levels for the next 100 years, will bring ‘major changes’ to our seafront, said the council.

And it would be a ‘complete waste of money’ to spend millions of pounds of public money on the structure before knowing how the new layout of the promenade will impact it, they added.

Last week it was confirmed the bandstand will remain shut this year, triggering anger and questions from members of the public.

Since then an action group has formed and launched a petition to save the attraction.

Now Eastbourne Borough Council has answered questions around the delay in repairing the bandstand, and where previous money set aside has gone.

The action group raised questions around what happened to the £3m set aside in March 2020 to carry out the ‘most urgent’ repairs.

A spokesperson for the council said the country was put into lockdown a week after this money was approved by the cabinet.

The spokesperson said, “This had a catastrophic impact on the economy. Our income from tourism stopped overnight, at the same time that our spending soared as we prioritised support for the most vulnerable in Eastbourne. A reset of our capital programme was required.

“The capital programme is not money we have in the bank but money that we borrow for major works and can be repaid from our revenue, but the loss of income as a result of the lockdown impacted greatly on this, hence the need for a reset.”

Now £750,000 is being spent on stage repairs and dealing with health and safety issues, subject to full council approval on February 23.

The council confirmed once this work is done the attraction will be able to reopen ‘in time for the 2023 season’.

The spokesperson also stressed the flood defence project with the Environment Agency needs to be remembered.

The spokesperson said, “There is another fundamental consideration that is being overlooked. We are working with the Environment Agency on a £100 million flood defence project. It is the largest project of its kind in the country and it will bring major changes to our seafront and promenade. It will protect homes and property for the next 100 years from rising sea levels.

“With this in mind, it makes no sense to spend millions of pounds of public money on the bandstand at this time, when we don’t yet know how it will be impacted by the new layout of the promenade. It could be a complete waste of money if we did.”

In terms of the timings of the repairs, the council said the pandemic had a big impact on this.

The spokesperson said, “For the past two years no one has known how long we would be in the grip of Covid-19 and the restrictions on everyday life, highlighted by advance of the Omicron variant. The essential services that many people rely on came first, not repairs to the bandstand.”

The council also highlighted the bandstand is nearly 90 years old and ‘battered by winter storms’ due to its location.

The spokesperson said, “Like all monuments of great age, it suffers with more problems with every year that passes. However, while residents understand why spending on frontline services such as housing and helping the homeless must come first, we will always do what is needed to ensure audiences continue to visit this much-loved landmark for generations to come.”