Eastbourne's Fort Fun reopens to the public

The popular family attraction, in Royal Parade, is back in business following years of uncertainty around its future.

It has been fully refurbished indoors with a multi-level soft play area, complete with slides, ball pits, net walks and tunnels.

There are also separate areas for children under one and children under three, as well as a cafe for parents to enjoy.

The refurbishment has been a mammoth effort for Wingrove House – which also owns Treasure Island and the Beach Deck. A spokesperson for the company said they were ‘delighted’ to announce that the ‘well-loved family attraction’ would finally be opening its doors.

They said: “Thank you all for your continued support and patience, we can't wait to welcome you to Fort Fun soon!”

There had been a lot of questions over the future of the site following its closure during the Covid-19 pandemic.

In 2022, Eastbourne Borough Council recommended a five-year lease to see Fort Fun ‘restored as a magnet for family fun’, and the operation was split between Wingrove House and Defiant Sports.

But the highly-an ticipated refurbishment was delayed due to frequent incidents of vandalism and, later, controversy over EBC’s decision to withdraw its offer from Defiant Sports.

The team behind Wingrove House persevered with the view to reopen the play area in spring of this year, but continued anti-social behaviour created several setbacks.

The company has suffered break-ins, and vandals have defaced the building with grafitti, trashed the miniature golf course and caused thousands of pounds of damage to roller shutters.

Speaking in January of 2023, a director of Wingrove House, Ben Porter, said: “There’s been a lot of damage and time and effort.

“We must’ve been on the site 50 times because the alarms are going off.

"Without getting into the numbers, we have spent a lot of money there [due to vandalism].

“We’re just keen to get on."

Fort Fun is open seven days a week from 9.30am to 6pm. Children aged six months and under go free.

For more information, visit: www.fort-fun.co.uk/.