New paving in town centre scrubbed clean
By Rebecca Maer
Light coloured paving stones installed in Eastbourne town centre as part of a multi-million pound scheme have been scrubbed clean to remove large areas of unsightly dark stains.
Many people questioned why two extensive areas of newly-laid paving, one in the heart of the shopping area and the other near the seafront, had become so filthy so quickly.
A team from Eastbourne Borough Council (EBC) have used a specialist street-cleaning vehicle alongside hand-held pressure washers and cleaning fluids to hose the stains off the paving throughout the area.
The total amount of public money which has been spent in recent years on pedestrian and road improvements over the one-kilometre stretch between Eastbourne station and the seafront totals around £17 million.
The pedestrianisation of Victoria Place, near the seafront, cost £6 million, of which £4.74 million came from Levelling Up Funding. The work was completed earlier this summer but the light stones quickly became stained with widespread black marks.
The second scheme, currently being completed, is re-paving between Bankers’ Corner and Marks & Spencer. The work here cost a total of £6.4 million.
An earlier scheme, completed in 2020, including bus lanes, bus shelters, new road surface and paving, seating and landscaping in Terminus Road, Cornfield Road and Gildredge Road, cost £5 million.
An East Sussex County Council (ESCC) spokeswoman said most of the cost of the town centre redevelopment came from the South East Local Enterprise Partnership’s Local Growth Fund, ESCC’s capital budget and the Active Travel England 4 Fund.
Large areas of all these grey-paved zones had quickly become badly stained with large black patches around the bins, trails of liquid and footprints.
Eastbourne Reporter has asked EBC these questions:
1. What is the plan / frequency schedule for keeping the paving clean?
2. What measures / disposal methods are being put in place to prevent further staining?
EBC has yet to respond.
An ESCC spokeswoman said Eastbourne Borough Council was now responsible for cleaning the paving.
