Sovereign Centre: Eastbourne residents protest against swimming pool closures

The fun pool and training pool at the Sovereign Centre have been earmarked for closure amid a number of proposed council budget cuts.

It comes as Eastbourne Borough Council works to find savings of £2.7 million, on top of more than £3 million of savings already included in its 2024/25 budget.

Thousands of people signed a petition to save the swimming pools and, last night, took to the Town Hall to ensure their voices were heard.

Residents of all ages held handmade placards and chanted ‘save our pools’ while standing outside the council building. The group of campaigners erupted in cheers as several passing cars beeped their horns in solidarity.

Speaking ahead of the protest, Kate Skipper, who has been fighting against the closure since September, said the loss of the swimming pools would have a ‘devastating impact on the town’.

She said: “We all understand that the councillors have some very hard decisions to make but so many of us believe that the closure of the fun pool and the training pool will have a devastating impact on the town.

“We have used all other avenues to voice our opinions and share our ideas.

"The closure could happen before the end of this year and people want to know how that affects them.”

The protest took place ahead of last night’s full council meeting, where EBC leader Councillor Stephen Holt said the Liberal Democrat-run council had ‘made every effort to protect swimming at the Sovereign Centre’.

During the meeting, Cllr Holt assured the authority wouldn’t make ‘any irreversible changes’ to the facilities until the Scrutiny Committee – chaired by the opposition – had assessed and evaluated the council’s decision.

Cllr Holt said: “We still legally must make in-year savings – there is no choice.

“Until Scrutiny meets, we will not make any irreversible changes to the centre or the pools.”

Cllr Holt also thanked those who attended the demonstration, adding that he ‘totally respects these views’.

He said: “The decision to change the provision of swimming at the Sovereign Centre is one that we have made with a heavy heart.”