Eastbourne's £40M Revamp Aims to Revitalize Victorian Town Centre

Eastbourne, a Victorian town once known as "God's waiting room", is shaking off its sedate image with a major revamp. In a rebranding and regeneration effort, the town has been embarking on a multi-million pound transformation in recent years.

In March 2024, it was announced that Eastbourne would receive a total of £40 million in government funding for various regeneration projects. This move to attract tourism and businesses to the town has now taken a giant leap forward with the announcement that work will begin on the next part of cleaning up the town centre as part of an "extremely ambitious" scheme.

East Sussex County Council's planning committee has approved new Traffic Regulation Orders, the legal process necessary to carry out the second phase of improving the town centre. This is designed to boost the vitality of the area and improve accessibility for pedestrians. The council has warned residents to expect "major" disruptions when the work starts on September 8, 2025.

The town centre has already benefited from extensive work carried out over the past few years, and this latest phase of the scheme, which includes further pedestrianisation of Terminus Road, will add to the improvements already made. The council is also hoping to introduce a new pedestrianised civic space outside Marks & Spencer, subject to future funding.

The announcement comes just months after Conde Nast Traveller praised Eastbourne as a "must-visit" town, describing it as a "quintessential old-fashioned seaside resort" with "glorious" access to the South Downs National Park and "fronted by three miles of shingle".