‘They are turning it into a wasteland’: Eastbourne resident calls for more benches in the town centre

John Strong from Susans Road has called for the council to install more benches along Terminus Road from Banker’s Corner to the seafront.

He said: “From Banker’s Corner up until the station you have all these slight grey boxes that people can sit on but nothing from Banker’s Corner to the seafront.

“They keep taking them away. It was quite adequate at one point.

“They [the council] are turning it into a wasteland from Banker’s Corner to the seafront.”

The Eastbourne resident said there is just one bench on that strip of Terminus Road.

He added: “Everywhere you go in the town centre you used to have places to rest.

"Eastbourne is known for its elderly population and for its tourists and it is not going to be very good when they go home and say: ‘Don’t go to Eastbourne, you have to sit on the ground’.”

Mr Strong said when he is in the town centre he is often in-need of a place to rest but cannot find a bench.

The Susans Road resident explained that he has contacted Eastbourne Borough Council six times about his concerns in the last few weeks.

A spokesperson from Eastbourne Borough Council said: “We removed the benches in this area because they became a magnet for anti-social behaviour and were frequently damaged.”

Back in July 2021 a resident also raised concerns about the state of some of the benches in the town centre.

The council said at the time some benches in Terminus Road would be removed.

READ THIS:Five-star Eastbourne town centre restaurant shuts after less than 18 months

Emergency incident at Beachy Head near Eastbourne

Crews deal with ‘unattended’ fire in Eastbourne