The ruling LibDem administration in Eastbourne has been accused of being disingenuous over the council’s submission of a £26.5 million funding bid to overcome its neglect of heritage assets.
The accusation has been made publicly by both Bandstand campaigners and those wanting to restore the seafront (including the Redoubt fortress), who contributed much to the funding bid but whose efforts were not acknowledged in the Council’s PR story.
Eastbourne Conservatives have endorsed the criticism and called the action by council leaders “bordering on deceit”.
Conservative Group Leader, Councillor Robert Smart, who actively encouraged and supported officers with the bid, ensured that members of the Friends of Eastbourne Seafront were involved.
“This group contributed a Vision for the Seafront and collected 400 survey responses from businesses, residents and visitors at very short notice”, says Cllr Smart. “The external consultants, who did not visit Eastbourne, relied on this work as a central plank for the bid.”
As an extraordinary comparison, the Cabinet Member for Heritage Assets (Cllr. Helen Burton) contributed nothing. “It is bizarre that she complains about a shortage of Government funding when there are funds on offer, and she has done nothing to pursue them when she should have been leading the charge”, adds Cllr Smart.
“Eastbourne Conservatives work actively for the good of Eastbourne and, where funds are available do our best to obtain them, leaving politics aside”, Cllr Smart remarks.
“The story released by the Council made reference to previously receiving £10 million annually for public services in Eastbourne, although goodness knows what that was spent on”, says Conservative Councillor Kshama Shore, who chairs the towns’ Scrutiny Committee. “Residents should be asking where was all this money spent, looking at the disgraceful state of the core tourist area of the town currently.”
