People power will choose how millions of pounds are spent in Eastbourne

By Rebecca Maer, Eastbourne Reporter

Jury-style selection will be used to find Eastbourne residents who will decide the criteria for spending the first phase of up to £20 million of Government funding in a unique democracy model.

Out of 9,000 letters to be randomly sent out, 25 people who agree to take part will be selected, based on a range of demographics, to join a citizens' forum. 

These residents will then be involved in deciding the criteria for allocating large pots of funding for the next four years.

The trailblazing project will be implemented by the New Citizen Project participation consultancy. Eastbourne is the only town to adopt this citizen-based process for setting the criteria and it could become a model for other neighbourhood boards.  

From next year, any resident can suggest projects which deserve funding which will be judged against the criteria set by the citizens' forum, to be known as ‘Eastbourne Mini Public’. 

“Regeneration starts with trust: it begins the moment someone decides to show up and someone starts to listen. It grows when every person is seen and valued,” said Richard Garland, independent chair of the Eastbourne Neighbourhood Board (ENB). 

He was speaking at the launch of ENB’s regeneration plan this week, unveiling five priority areas to receive a total of nearly £3 million over the next four years. 

And three projects, including a beach school, will each receive up to £250,000 over the next four years. 

The money is coming from a pot of up to £20 million over the next ten years which Eastbourne has been allocated in the Government’s 'Pride in Place' programme to “create safer, healthier neighbourhoods where communities can thrive”. 

The overall project comprises a ten-year regeneration plan, starting with a four-year investment plan. 

Mr Garland emphasised: “We don’t have £20 million in the bank now – it is over ten years, with £7 million over the first four years.” 

Bexhill and Hastings have also secured a similar amount to spend over the next decade. 

How is the cash being earmarked? 

The launch, in front of town and community leaders at Hillbrow Health and Wellbeing in Meads, gave details of allocations across five priority areas and for three key projects. 

The five areas to receive £585,000 each over the next four years relate to:  

• The town's economy 
• Community wellbeing 
• Tourism 
• Nature 
• People and families 

The three strategic projects to receive money over the next four years are: 

• Beach School - £250,000 for outdoor learning and to ensure every child in Eastbourne learns to swim 
• Community Food Initiative - £200,000 to create a central hub, co-ordinating advice and support for people living in poverty, and to reduce food waste 
• 'Eastbourne Mini Public' - £250,000 for the citizens' forum which will influence the criteria and priorities for spending 

An additional £150,000 will be spent over the next four years on a ‘spring clean’ to tidy streets across the whole town. 

And each of the town’s nine wards will receive £10,000 each for priorities identified by residents.

A series of ward meetings last autumn identified litter, street lighting, accessible routes and better signage as key concerns. 

The ENB published a press release after the meeting but details of the citizens' forum selection and the amounts allocated to different schemes were unveiled at the launch. 

What the MP says 

Josh Babarinde, Eastbourne’s Liberal Democrat MP, told the launch it had been a personal passion to build a different process to reflect the views of communities and use a citizens' forum. 

“No other neighbourhood board has directly got views of residents about how we allocate cash. This could serve as a model for other neighbourhood boards. We want to restore trust between communities and institutions,” he said. 

What the board chair says 

Richard Garland, who was interviewed by the Eastbourne Reporter last year, gives his time voluntarily along with the other 20 members of the ENB. 

In his presentation, he was upbeat about the prospects for the town but adamant much of the decision-making should come from the residents.

He told the gathering: “We are a town in flux, on the edge of a renaissance.  

“This plan can be a powerful moment. It can and, I hope, will be transformational ... it will go a long way to improving the quality of life for everyone who calls Eastbourne home. 

“It is about building a good society: there are bits that are broken and are in need of attention.

“The vision is ambitious and broad – to deliver a quality of life for all Eastbourne citizens. The happiness factor is a really important outcome. 

“It is not something delivered from above, but which is crafted by people. If we are going to make this happen, everyone has to think big.” 

The ENB is to recruit a full-time programme manager and part-time support officer. Mr Garland also said that there would be a need “to keep refreshing” the board.

The distribution of money to more than 300 towns has been renamed and relaunched over the past two years.

The original promise of £20 million for Eastbourne was made by the Conservative Government in March 2024. The Labour Government said in October 2024 that it would keep the basic scheme but reform it.

In March 2025 it was confirmed Eastbourne would receive the money as part of a renamed ‘Plan for Neighbourhoods’.

Then in September 2025, the Government relaunched the scheme as the 'Pride in Place' programme "to invest in over 330 of our most overlooked communities". 

:: No machine learning (AI) or PR handouts were used in the creation of this hand-crafted ad-free journalism; it took listening and Pitman shorthand. But this takes time. If you value this reporting, one-off donations are here or, better still, become a member here for the price of a coffee once a month. Your support is vital for this non-profit to continue