Political opinion with Josh Babarinde MP: I’ve secured a further £1million for Eastbourne  

Last week, I was delighted to secure a further £1 million for Eastbourne through the Government's new ‘Derelict Buildings Fund’ which was announced during the Budget.

Eastbourne is one of just 60 local authorities across the country to receive funding through this scheme (and the only constituency with a Lib Dem MP to secure it), which is designed to help bring long-term derelict buildings back into use.

For the past two years, I have been campaigning for greater Government support to tackle some of the large, long-term vacant buildings that have blighted our town. I’ve spoken in Parliament and beyond about buildings like Debenhams on Terminus Road, the former Curzon Theatre on Langney Road and the old BT Telephone Exchange on Moy Avenue.

However, securing this funding is only part of the picture. Alongside this, my team and I have been working closely with Eastbourne's newly established Difficult Properties Group to challenge developers who are sitting on sites and allowing buildings to remain vacant for years.

It’s a scandal that developers buy properties, secure planning permission and then do nothing but sit on the land while it increases in value but blights our community. In my view, there should be a ‘use it or lose it’ policy in place from Government: develop within a certain period of receiving planning permission otherwise it’s revoked.

Residents will have noticed the scaffolding coming down from the TJ Hughes building this week, following its recent facelift. This is exactly the sort of progress I want to see happening across more of our town.

Too often, buildings are left to deteriorate while their owners show little urgency in bringing them back into use, despite the impact this has on the surrounding community.

This is the longer-term challenge I want to tackle: holding property owners to account, challenging those who are dragging their heels and making sure Eastbourne's buildings are utilised to their full potential. 

In the meantime, this £1 million is a very welcome step forward, and I am determined that Eastbourne residents have a meaningful say in how this money is spent.

I'd love to hear your ideas about which buildings should be prioritised and how we can make the most of this opportunity. Please do get in touch and share your thoughts via email [email protected]