Eastbourne, England

Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the larger Eastbourne Downland Estate.

The seafront consists largely of Victorian hotels, a pier, theatre, contemporary art gallery and a Napoleonic era fort and military museum.

Though Eastbourne is a relatively new town, there is evidence of human occupation in the area from the Stone Age. The town grew as a fashionable tourist resort largely thanks to prominent landowner, William Cavendish, later to become the Duke of Devonshire. Cavendish appointed architect Henry Currey to design a street plan for the town, but not before sending him to Europe to draw inspiration. The resulting mix of architecture is typically Victorian and remains a key feature of Eastbourne.

As a seaside resort, Eastbourne derives a large and increasing income from tourism, with revenue from traditional seaside attractions augmented by conferences, public events and cultural sightseeing. The other main industries in Eastbourne include trade and retail, healthcare, education, construction, manufacturing, professional scientific and the technical sector.

Eastbourne's population is growing; between 2001 and 2011 it increased from 89,800 to 99,412. The 2011 census shows that the average age of residents has decreased as the town has attracted students, families and those commuting to London and Brighton. In June 2019, the population of Eastbourne was estimated to be 104,042.

History

Pre-Roman

Flint mines and Stone Age artefacts have been found in the surrounding countryside of the Eastbourne Downs.

A Bronze Age site of national importance was discovered in Hydneye lake at Shinewater in 1995.

Celtic people are believed to have settled on the Eastbourne Downland in 500BC.

Roman era

There are Roman remains buried beneath the town, such as a Roman bath and section of pavement between Eastbourne Pier and the Redoubt Fortress. There is also a Roman villa near the entrance to the Pier and the present Queens Hotel.

In 2014, skeletal remains of a woman who lived around 425AD were discovered in the vicinity of Beachy Head on the Eastbourne Downland Estate. The remains were found to be of a 30-year-old woman who grew up in East Sussex, but had genetic heritage from sub-Saharan Africa, giving her black skin and an African skeletal structure. Her ancestors came from below the Saharan region, at a time when the Roman Empire extended only as far as North Africa.
These remains have now been DNA tested and found to originate from Cyprus, not sub-Saharan Africa.

Anglo-Saxon era

An Anglo-Saxon charter, around 963 AD, describes a landing stage and stream at Burne.

The original name came from the 'Burne' or stream which ran through today's Old Town area of Eastbourne. All that can be seen of the Burne, or Bourne, is the small pond in Motcombe Gardens. The bubbling source is guarded by a statue of Neptune. Motcombe Gardens are overlooked by St. Mary's Church, a Norman church which allegedly lies on the site of a Saxon 'moot', or meeting place. This gives Motcombe its name.

In 2014 local metal-detectorist Darrin Simpson found a coin minted during the reign of Æthelberht II of East Anglia (died 794), in a field near the town. It is believed that the minting of these coins may have led to Æthelberht's beheading by Offa of Mercia, as it had been struck as a sign of independence. Describing the coin, expert Christopher Webb, said, "This new discovery is an important and unexpected addition to the numismatic history of eighth century England."

Norman era

Following the Norman conquest, the Hundred of what is now Eastbourne, was held by Robert, Count of Mortain, William the Conqueror's half brother. The Domesday Book lists 28 ploughlands, a church, a watermill, fisheries and salt pans.

The Book referred to the area as 'Borne'. 'East' was added to 'Borne' in the 13th century, renaming the town.

Medieval era

A charter for a weekly market was granted to Bartholomew de Badlesmere in 1315–16; this increased his status as Lord of the Manor and benefited local industry. During the Middle Ages the town was visited by King Henry I and in 1324 by Edward II. Evidence of Eastbourne's medieval past can seen in the 12th-century Church of St Mary, and the manor house called Bourne Place.

In the mid-16th century Bourne Place was home to the Burton family, who acquired much of the land on which the present town stands. This manor house is currently owned by the Duke of Devonshire and was extensively remodelled in the early Georgian era when it was renamed Compton Place. It is one of the two Grade I listed buildings in the town.

Eastbourne has Cornish connections, most notably visible in the Cornish high cross in the churchyard of St Mary's Church which was brought from an unspecified location in Cornwall.

Georgian era

In 1752, a dissertation by Richard Russell extolled the medicinal benefits of the seaside. His views were of considerable benefit to the south coast and, in due course, Eastbourne became known as "the Empress of Watering Places".

Eastbourne's earliest claim as a seaside resort came about following a summer holiday visit by four of King George III's children in 1780 (Princes Edward and Octavius and Princesses Elizabeth and Sophia).

In 1793, following a survey of coastal defences in the southeast, approval was given for the positioning of infantry and artillery to defend the bay between Beachy Head and Hastings from attack by the French. Fourteen Martello Towers were constructed along the western shore of Pevensey Bay, continuing as far as Tower 73, the Wish Tower at Eastbourne. Several of these towers survive: the Wish Tower is an important feature of the town's seafront and was the subject of a painting by James Sant RA, and part of Tower 68 forms the basement of a house on St. Antony's Hill. Between 1805 and 1807, a fortress known as the Eastbourne Redoubt was built as a barracks and storage depot, and armed with 10 cannons.

A connection with India comes in the shape of the 18th-century Lushington monument, also at St Mary's, which commemorates a survivor of the Black Hole of Calcutta atrocity which led to the British conquest of Bengal.

Eastbourne remained an area of small rural settlements until the 19th century.

Four villages or hamlets occupied the site of the modern town: Bourne (or, to distinguish it from others of the same name, East Bourne) is now known as Old Town, and this surrounded the bourne (stream) which rises in the present Motcombe Park; Meads, where the Downs meet the coast; South Bourne (near the town hall); and the fishing settlement known simply as Sea Houses, which was situated to the east of the present pier.

Victorian era

By the mid-19th century most of the area had fallen into the hands of two landowners: John Davies Gilbert (the Davies-Gilbert family still own much of the land in Eastbourne and East Dean) and William Cavendish, Earl of Burlington.

The Gilbert family's holdings date to the late 17th and early 18th centuries when barrister Nicholas Gilbert married an Eversfield and Gildredge heiress. (The Gildredges owned much of Eastbourne by 1554. The Gilberts eventually made the Gildredge Manor House their own. Today the Gildredge name lives on in the eponymous park.)

Richard Trevithick, the inventor of the steam locomotive, is reported to have spent some time here.

An early plan, for a town named Burlington, was abandoned, but on 14 May 1849 the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway arrived to scenes of great jubilation. With the arrival of the railway, the town's growth accelerated.

Cavendish, now the 7th  Duke of Devonshire, recruited Henry Currey in 1859 to lay out a plan for what was essentially an entire new town – a resort built "for gentlemen by gentlemen". The town grew rapidly from a population of less than 4,000 in 1851 to nearly 35,000 by 1891. In 1883, it was incorporated as a municipal borough; a purpose-built town hall was opened in 1886. This period of growth and elegant development continued for several decades. A royal visit by
George V and Queen Mary in March 1935 is commemorated by a plaque on chalet number 2 at Holywell.

20th century

During the First World War, Summerdown Camp, a convalescent facility, opened in 1915 near the South Downs to treat soldiers who were injured during trench warfare or seriously ill. It was the largest of this type in the UK during this war, treating 150,000; 80% were able to return to fight. The facility was dismantled in 1920. An exhibition about the history of the camp was held in Eastbourne for several months in 2015.

In 1926, the Eastbourne Corporation Act enabled the creation of the Eastbourne Downland Estate.

The Second World War saw a change in fortunes. Initially, children were evacuated to Eastbourne on the assumption that they would be safe from German bombs, but soon they had to be evacuated again because after the fall of France in June 1940 it was anticipated that the town would lie in an invasion zone. Part of Operation Sea Lion, the German invasion plan, envisaged landings at Eastbourne. Many people sought safety away from the coast and shut up their houses. Restrictions on visitors forced the closure of most hotels, and private boarding schools moved away. Many of these empty buildings were later taken over by the services. The Royal Navy set up an underwater weapons school, and the Royal Air Force operated radar stations at Beachy Head and on the marshes near Pevensey. Thousands of Canadian soldiers were billeted in and around Eastbourne from July 1941 to the run-up to D-Day. Units of the very secretive and highly effective No. 3 (Jewish) Troop of the No. 10 Commando, composed of native German speaking Austrian and German Jewish refugees, trained in Eastbourne. The town suffered badly during the war, with many Victorian and Edwardian buildings damaged or destroyed by air raids. Indeed, by the end of the conflict it was designated by the Home Office to have been 'the most raided town in the South East region'. The situation was especially bad between May 1942 and June 1943 with hit–and–run raids from fighter–bombers based in northern France. Ultimately, 187 civilian people died in the borough through enemy action.

In the summer of 1956, the town came to national and worldwide attention, when John Bodkin Adams, a general practitioner serving the town's wealthier patients, was arrested for the murder of an elderly widow. Rumours had been circulating since 1935 regarding the frequency of his being named in patients' wills (132 times between 1946 and 1956) and the gifts he was given (including two Rolls-Royces). Figures of up to 400 murders were reported in British and foreign newspapers,Hallworth, Rodney and Mark Williams, ''Where there's a will... The sensational life of Dr John Bodkin Adams'', Capstan Press, Jersey, 1983. but after a controversial trial at the Old Bailey which gripped the nation for 17 days in March 1957, Adams was found not guilty. He was struck off for four years but resumed his practice in Eastbourne in 1961. According to Scotland Yard's archives, he is thought to have killed up to 163 patients in the Eastbourne area.

After the war, development continued, including the growth of Old Town up the hillside (Green Street Farm Estate) and the housing estates of Hampden Park, Willingdon Trees and Langney. During the latter half of the 20th century, there were controversies over the demolition of Pococks, a 15th-century manor house on what is now the Rodmill Housing Estate, and the granting of planning permission for a 19-storey block at the western end of the seafront. The latter project (South Cliff Tower) was realised in 1965 despite a storm of protest led by the newly formed Eastbourne and District Preservation Committee, which later became Eastbourne Civic Society, and was renamed the Eastbourne Society in 1999. Local conservationists also failed to prevent the construction of the glass-plated TGWU conference and holiday centre (the building now operating as The View Hotel), but were successful in purchasing Polegate Windmill, thus saving it from demolition and redevelopment. Most of the expansion took place on the northern and eastern margins of the town, gradually swallowing surrounding villages. However, the richer western part was constrained by the Downs and has remained largely unchanged. In 1981, a large section of the town centre was replaced by the indoor shops of the Arndale Centre.

In the 1990s, both growth and controversy accelerated rapidly as a new plan was launched to develop the area known as the Crumbles, a shingle bank on the coast to the east of the town centre. This area, now known as Sovereign Harbour, containing a marina, shops and several thousand houses, along with luxury flats, was formerly home to many rare plants. There has been continued growth in other parts of the town, and the central marshland has become farmland and nature reserves.

21st century

In 2009, the new Towner Gallery was opened, abutting the listed Congress Theatre built in 1963.

In 2016–19 extensive remodelling work was undertaken to the prominent Arndale Centre, which takes up most of the town centre, and was originally built by Legal & General Assurance in the 1980s. This was then renamed The Beacon. The remodelling including the addition of a brand new cinema run by Cineworld.

On 22 November 2019, a fire broke out in the basement of the Claremont Hotel. The nearby Pier Hotel was also evacuated.

Local History Society

Eastbourne Local History Society was founded in 1970. It is a charitable, not-for-profit organisation in the United Kingdom whose objective is the pursuit and encouragement of an active interest in the study of the history of Eastbourne and its immediate environs and the dissemination of the outcome of such studies.

As the major landowner, the Cavendish family has had strong connections with Eastbourne since the 18th century. The current President of the Society is William Cavendish, Earl of Burlington.

Containing over 1,500 articles about the history of Eastbourne, the Society's indexed journal, ''The Eastbourne Local Historian'', is the major historical resource for the town and has been published quarterly since its inception in 1970. Over the years, the Society has published various books and booklets about the history of Eastbourne, twelve of which are currently in print.

Geography

The South Downs dominate Eastbourne and the Eastbourne Downland Estate can be seen from most of the town. These were originally chalk deposits laid down under the sea during the Late Cretaceous, and were later lifted by the same tectonic plate movements that formed the European Alps, during the middle Tertiary period. The chalk can be clearly seen along the eroded coastline to the west of the town, in the area known as Beachy Head and the Seven Sisters, where continuous erosion keeps the cliff edge vertical and white. The chalk contains many fossils such as ammonites and nautilus. The town area is built on geologically recent alluvial drift, the result of the silting up of a bay. This changes to Weald clay around the Langney estate.

A part of the South Downs, Willingdon Down is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest. This is of archaeological interest due to a Neolithic camp and burial grounds. The area is also a nationally uncommon tract of chalk grassland rich in species. Another SSSI which partially falls with the Eastbourne district is Seaford to Beachy Head. This site, of biological and geological interest, covers the coastline between Eastbourne and Seaford, plus the Seven Sisters country park and the Cuckmere valley. Several nature trails lead across the Downs to areas such as the nearby villages of East Dean and Birling Gap, and landmarks like the Seven Sisters, Belle Tout Lighthouse and Beachy Head.

Suburbs

Eastbourne's greater area comprises the town of Polegate, and the civil parishes of Willingdon and Jevington, Stone Cross, Pevensey, Westham and Pevensey Bay village. All are part of the Wealden District. Within Eastbourne's limits are:

* '' Langney'': Langney Rise, Shinewater, Kingsmere, Langney Village, the Marina, Langney Point
* '' Hampden Park'': Hampden Park Village, Willingdon Trees, Winkney Farm, Ratton
* ''Inner areas'': Rodmill, Ocklynge, Seaside, Bridgemere, Roselands, Downside
* ''Town centre'': Town centre, Little Chelsea, Meads, Holywell, Old Town, Upperton
* '' Sovereign Harbour'': North Harbour, South Harbour

There was a community known as Norway, Eastbourne in the triangle now bounded by Wartling Road, Seaside and Lottbridge Drove. The name being a corruption of North Way, as this was the route to the north. The area is now a housing estate and the only evidence there was a Norway are a Norway Road and the local church whose sign reads "St Andrew's Church, Norway".

The former fishing hamlet of Holywell (local pronunciation 'holly well') was situated by the cliff on a ledge some 400 yards to the southwest of the public garden known as the Holywell Retreat. It was approached from what is now Holywell Road via the lane between the present Helen Gardens and Bede's School, which leads to the chalk pinnacle formerly known locally as 'Gibraltar' or the 'Sugar Loaf'. The ground around the pinnacle was the site of lime kilns also worked by the fishermen. The fishing hamlet at Holywell was taken over by the local water board in 1896 to exploit the springs in the cliffs. The water board's successors still own the site, and there is a pumping station but little evidence of the hamlet itself, as by now even most of the foundations of the cottages have gone over the cliff.

Climate

As with the rest of the British Isles and South Coast, Eastbourne experiences a maritime climate with warm summers and mild winters. The local climate is notable for its high sunshine levels, at least relative to much of the rest of England – Eastbourne holds the record for the highest recorded amount of sunshine in a month, 383.9 hours in July 1911. Temperature extremes recorded at Eastbourne since 1960 range from during July 1976, down to In January 1987. Eastbourne's coastal location also means it tends to be milder than most areas, particularly during night. A whole six months of the year have never fallen below 0 °C (32 °F), and in July the temperature has never fallen below . All temperature figures relate to the period 1960 onwards. The Köppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate is " Cfb" (Marine West Coast Climate/ Oceanic climate).

Governance

Eastbourne Borough Council

Eastbourne Borough Council is responsible for much local governance, with representation provided by 27 councillors from 9 wards, with elections to the council being held every four years.

The 2015 election resulted in a council made up of 18 Liberal Democrat and 9 Conservative councillors.

The council operates out of Eastbourne Town Hall which was designed by W. Tadman Foulkes, and built between 1884 and 1886 under supervision of Henry Currey, the Duke of Devonshire's architect.

East Sussex County Council

East Sussex County Council has responsibility for local education, libraries, social services, civil registration, trading standards and transport. Out of the 49 seats, 9 are returned by Eastbourne voters.

The 2009 East Sussex County Council election resulted in 29 Conservatives, 13 Liberal Democrats, 4 Labour and 3 Independent, of which Eastbourne provided 6 Liberal Democrats and 3 Conservatives.

House of Commons

The Parliament Constituency of Eastbourne has always covered a greater area than the borough's nine wards, but due to population growth in the town, it has lost territory over time. At present the constituency includes all of the borough as well as the suburb of Willingdon.

Eastbourne is a marginal seat currently represented by the Conservatives but with recent representation by the Liberal Democrats.

European Parliament

Before Brexit in 2020, the town was part of the South East England constituency in the European Parliament.

Demography

The overall population of Eastbourne is growing (between 2001 and 2008, the population grew from 89,800 to 94,800). Eastbourne is the second largest district or borough in East Sussex with an official resident population of 101,133 in 2014.

The average age of residents has dropped in recent years as younger people move into the town and young family households have started to balance retirement communities. In 2014, 54% of residents were between 20 and 64, while 24% were over 65 years old, and there was an average age of 43. In 2013, the Office for National Statistics named an area in Meads as the first place in the UK to have an average resident age exceeding 70, with an average age of 71.1, compared with a national average age of 39.7.

29% of households do not have cars or vans.

Ethnically, the town was said to be 93.7% white in 2007. Eastbourne has residents from a diverse range of international backgrounds, including notable groups of people from recent Polish, Portuguese, Chinese, Turkish, Italian and Greek origin.

The 2001 UK Census indicated that the largest non-white ethnic group at the time was Chinese. Studies conducted by the local council in 2008 reflected growth in new residents from Eastern Europe, particularly Poland.

Unemployment in Eastbourne was below the national average in 2013 figures, at 4.1% compared to 4.4% for England and Wales. The percentage of economically active people increased between 2001 and 2011. There has also been an upward trend in recent years, in the number of people with higher education qualifications.

Economy

With a population of more than 100,000 people, Eastbourne has been a fast-growing town in the past few years, relative to the rest of the UK. Development around Eastbourne's Sovereign Harbour, Britain's largest composite marina, has created more than 3,000 new homes and an innovation centre for small businesses.

Eastbourne is home to companies in a wide range of industries. Eastbourne's Chamber of Commerce has more than 500 members and holds many networking events to facilitate local business links.

In 2008, Eastbourne was judged to have low productivity, in a national assessment by the National Audit Office. Productivity, measured by gross value added per employee, was recorded as £31,390 per year. This compared unfavourably with the South East overall, where GVA was £40,460 per employee per year. A possible explanation for this is that a high proportion of workers are in sectors which have relatively low productivity and wages.

In recent years, five areas within Eastbourne have regularly featured in the most economically deprived 10% in all of England. Measured as Lower Layer Super Output Areas (LSOAs), two areas within Devonshire ward, two areas within Hampden Park, and one area within Langney, are all among the most deprived LSOAs in the country. Three quarters of LSOAs in the town (45 LSOAs or 76%) had a worse ranking for deprivation in 2010 than in 2007.

Technology and creative sectors

In 2016, UK innovation charity NESTA named Eastbourne as a "creative cluster", with 969 creative firms representing 9.1% of total businesses in the town and providing employment for 2,703 people.

Tourism sector

The seafront at Eastbourne consists almost entirely of Victorian hotels. Along with its pier and bandstand, this serves to preserve the front in a somewhat timeless manner. The Duke of Devonshire retains the rights to the seafront buildings and does not allow them to be developed into shops.

A stretch of of shingle beach stretches from Sovereign Harbour in the east to Beachy Head in the west. In a 1998 survey, 56% of visitors said that the beach and seafront was one of Eastbourne's best features, although 10% listed the pebbled beach as a dislike.

Other recreation facilities include two swimming pools, three fitness centres and other smaller sports clubs including scuba diving.

A children's adventure park is sited at the eastern end of the seafront. There are various other establishments scattered around the town such as crazy golf, go–karting and Laser Quest. The pier is an obvious place to visit and is sometimes used to hold events, such as the international birdman competition held annually, although this was cancelled in 2005 due to a lack of competitors. An annual raft competition used to take place where competitors, usually local businesses, circumnavigate the pier in a raft made by themselves, while being attacked by a water-cannon.

A major event in the tourist programme of Eastbourne Borough Council is Eastbourne Airbourne, a large air show, held annually in August.

Reports claim a £365m revenue from visitors in 2010, with an estimated 7,160 jobs supported by tourism.

Large employers

The town is home to the UK's largest book wholesalers, who have a 350,000 sq ft warehouse facility there. Gardners Books are one of the town's largest employers, with a majority of staff involved in packing and shipping books.

A majority of Eastbourne's total employment is offered by small private businesses, though Eastbourne District General Hospital is a significant public sector employer.

In 2010, it was assessed that Eastbourne had a public sector employment rate of 25.4% of overall jobs. This was noted as below average, compared with the UK as a whole.

Electricity supply

''Eastbourne Electric Light Co.'' started up on 4 September 1882 illuminating The Parades with 22 Brush arc lamps. Several large shops were lit with incandescent lamps powered from generators located at the Bedfordwell waterworks. An alternating current system was introduced in 1883, from a generating plant at The Old Brewery in Junction Road. By 1888 there were 1,700 lamps on the system; a new generating plant was added in 1899 including 30 kW, 75 kW, 100 kW, 50 kW, 150 kW and 200 kW generators. There were five circuits distributing electricity around the town through rubber insulated cables. After a few years the rubber deteriorated and faults were frequent. The ''Eastbourne Corporation'' purchased the undertaking on 1 January 1900 and the original Electricity Works was closed down in July 1902.

''Eastbourne County Borough Corporation'' began construction of Eastbourne power station in the first decade of the twentieth century. It supplied electricity, firstly for street lighting then other uses. The station had a single brick chimney and three wooden cooling towers. Upon nationalisation of the electricity industry in 1948 ownership of the station passed to the British Electricity Authority and then to the Central Electricity Generating Board. In 1954 the station generated 2,652 MWh of electricity and burned 3,500 tons of coal. In 1966 the power station had a generating capacity of 9.0 MW and delivered 3,165 MWh of electricity. The CEGB later closed the station and it was subsequently demolished.

Culture

Towner Art Gallery

The Towner Art Gallery is Eastbourne's principal arts gallery and arts education hub. After being located for many years in Eastbourne Manor House, within Gildredge Park, it relocated next to the Congress Theatre in 2009. The gallery holds one of the most important collections of public art in southern England.

Theatres

Eastbourne has three council-owned theatres: the Grade II* listed Congress Theatre, the Grade II listed Devonshire Park Theatre and the Grade II listed Winter Garden. The Grade II listed Royal Hippodrome Theatre used to be council-owned, but is now run by an independent charitable trust.

The Devonshire Park Theatre is a fine example of a Victorian theatre with ornate interior decorations, and plays host to touring dramas and comedies and an annual local pantomime. The Royal Hippodrome has the longest running summer show in Britain. The London Philharmonic Orchestra makes regular appearances and has an annual season at the Congress Theatre.

Other theatre venues in the town include the volunteer-run Underground Theatre, in the basement of the town's Central Library, and the Lamb Theatre, based at the Lamb Inn in Old Town, which was launched in August 2009 but reinstated an older tradition at the pub.

Cinemas

Eastbourne had two cinemas: the Curzon Cinema and Cineworld. The Curzon Cinema was a small, family-run, independent cinema in Langney Road, in the town centre, which closed in January 2020. Cineworld is a large Multiplex cinema with eight screens, in the Beacon shopping centre.

In 2013, the owners of the Curzon Cinema declared themselves "shocked" at the threats to their venue from a newly announced eight-screen multiplex, to be built in a renovated Arndale Centre nearby (the centre has been renamed as The Beacon).

Festivals and Fairs

Despite its image as a dull 'retirement town', exciting cultural events are held in Eastbourne every year, and festivals are increasingly becoming popular.
Some of the most important events are '' Airbourne, Eastbourne's International Airshow'', one of the biggest airshow in the United Kingdom. The show attracts every year huge crowds of fans from all over the world and in 2022 celebrated 28 years of airshow excellence.
And the ''Eastbourne Music & Arts Festival'', a competitive festival held annually at the Winter Gardens. It was originally founded in 1961 and since 2021 has changed its name into
Eastbourne Performing Arts Festival
'.

Other more recent festivals and fairs include:
''Eastbourne Feastival'', a family, food, music and culture festival which has been held annually since 2016.

Crossing The Screen International Film Festival
', the longest running film festival of Eastbourne, founded in 2016.

Eastbourne Steampunk Festival
'. Organised by Eastbourne’s Bonfire Society since 2016 and celebrating retro-futuristic technology and aesthetics.

Eastbourne Vintage Festival
', created in 2021 and held in Gildredge Park, one of the town’s most beautiful parks.

Springwater Festival
', created in 2021 and hosting a range of events to celebrate all aspects of water along Eastbourne seafront.

Music venues

Eastbourne Bandstand lies on the seafront, between the Wish Tower and the pier. It stages 1812 Firework Concerts, Rock N Roll nights, Big Band concerts, Promenade concerts and tribute bands.

There was once a second similar bandstand (also built in 1935) in the 'music gardens' near the Redoubt Fortress. The bandstand was removed to make way for the Pavilion Tearooms but the colonnades built around it are still there (behind the tea rooms). Before 1935 each of these sites had a smaller "birdcage" bandstand; the one in the music gardens having been moved from a rather precarious position opposite the Albion Hotel. The kiosk in the music gardens was originally one of the toll kiosks at the entrance to the pier.

Grove Road is the location of two independent record shops and a venue called Printer's Playhouse (which hosts performances of live music and new plays).

Media

The local community radio station Seahaven FM on 95.6 is now the most local radio station to cover Eastbourne. Former local radio station Sovereign FM is now More Radio Eastbourne, broadcasting to Eastbourne from studios in Worthing.
Regional radio stations, Heart Sussex, (previously Southern FM) has, since mid 2019, been networked from London and no longer has a Sussex base, which was previously in Portslade and BBC Radio Sussex which broadcasts from Brighton.

BBC
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