Study into free drinking water in Eastbourne's public places is approved

The study, given the green light by Eastbourne council’s cabinet making committee, will look at possible locations and costs and other ways to support the newly formed Refill Eastbourne such as encouraging local businesses to get involved by signing up to offer free water refills to provide a network of refill points across the town.

The decision follows a YouGov survey last year that revealed 73 per cent of people would like to see greater availability of free tap water with 59 per cent more likely to carry a reusable water bottle if that was the case.

Cabinet also agreed to research providing charging points for electric vehicles in public car parks in conjunction with other local authorities.

Jonathan Dow, the cabinet member for place services, said, “This is the first step to giving people more access to free drinking water in parks and public places in Eastbourne. By doing this, we would support the national campaign “Refill which aims to make refilling bottles of water as easy as possible to reduce marine plastic pollution.

“This is in line with the council’s aim to reduce single-use plastics in our community.”