Eastbourne charity cleans up former TJ Hughes building for better use

A Band of Brothers works with men aged between 18-25 who are, or at risk of, being caught up in the criminal justice system. Volunteers from the charity recently helped tidy up the former TJ Hughes site to get it ready to be used as a community space. This includes hours of sweeping floors, taking shelves apart, and getting rid of rubbish.

The building was vacated by TJ Hughes in 2019 and although there is a planning application going through the system to turn the site into a mix of flats and shops, until then it is empty so ‘Living Life Eastbourne’ is holding the lease so local groups can move in to make some use of the many floors and large spaces.

Chris Hunnisett, who is the director of Tubbs Computer Supplies CIC, is one of the people moving in and was helped by the volunteers. Chris is keen that more space is made available for other local groups to use. He said: “The TJ Hughes building is massive and is currently providing very little to the local community, the plan is to prepare areas so that organisations can easily move in and utilise the space.”

Steve Wallis, the Eastbourne conductor of A Band of Brothers said: “As a charity we mentor young men, over several weeks, including a weekend ‘Rites of Passage’ and a number of community days. It was great working with Chris and preparing areas that now can be used.”

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