Eastbourne not-for-profit crowdfunding for new venue amid closure risk

It comes following controversy over the Fort Fun site in Royal Parade, for which the group had its five-year lease revoked by Eastbourne Borough Council (EBC) in December 2023.

Having spent £75,000 on renovation works, Defiant Sports managing director Loretta Lock told this newspaper that the group were ‘feeling like [the council] used us’.

Now, the organisation – which provides inclusive access to sports for people with disabilities – has turned its attention to raising £15,000 to buy a new venue, as it says its ‘vital’ service is ‘under threat due to council actions’.

A statement from Defiant Sports reads: “Having put our time, money and community efforts into what we thought was the future of Defiant Sports, we are now in a situation where we have no venue to move to, and our lease on our current venue is fourteen months out of term.

"Not only will this impact our staff, but more importantly it will leave our service users without anywhere to go for both socialisation and physical activity. There is no one who offers services like ours locally, and very little nationwide, meaning the disabled community are once again left without any support or safe spaces.”

If the goal is reached, the money will be used to place a deposit on a venue to buy, instead of renting, to prevent ‘risk from landlords or the council ending their agreements with us’.

"This stability is vital to our community members, and having our own venue space would mean we could properly invest in the space to create a longterm, sustainable home for disability and inclusive sport,” the statement continued.

Mrs Lock added: “We are in positive talks with the council and have had two meetings with them, with lots of suggestions of how they would like to assist us.

"However, to date, we still have no new short term venue or financial compensation.

“We are hopeful, however, that a longer-term solution will be possible in Eastbourne, once we have overcome the disastrous situation we have been left to deal with.”

For more information about the Crowdfunder, visit: www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/savedefiantsports.