Conservative Councillors are demanding the Lib Dem Council to come clean as to whether they are using Covid 19 as an excuse to run down vital services in the town. Are these desperate attempts to compensate for commercial investments failing before the onset of Covid 19?

The latest question surrounds the Council’s Grove Road office which is closed to the public. The joint reception with the police is now only manned by the police. How can the vulnerable and those without IT skills contact the Council in person?

This follows a mas of closures such as the town centre Tourist Information Centre which absurdly directed visitors to contact the TIC’s in either Lewes or Seaford! Outrageous just when Eastbourne as the South’s favourite tourist destination was trying to recover some of the summer season.

In the absence of Council meetings for several months Conservative Councillors have not been consulted on, nor approved of, decisions taken through delegated powers. These could continue until May next year. Research shows that Eastbourne Borough Council has endured the longest time without a full council meeting of all 26 local authorities in Kent and Sussex.

“Theatres kept in the dark”

The termination of the entire theatres management and staff has not been put before any Council or Cabinet meeting in which Conservative Councillors have been consulted.

Conservative Group Leader, Robert Smart, has demanded that normal democratic accountability is restored.