Blow for UK seaside town as iconic landmark will 'decline or be demolished'

A new report has suggested that the only alternative is to let an iconic UK seaside town landmark decline or be demolished. The Grade-II listed bandstand in Eastbourne was built in 1935. According to Tripadvisor, and its semi-circular design with blue domed roof means there is none like it in the UK. It has seats for 1,600 and has for many years hosted a full programme of concerts and events.

But new analysis by Conscious Engineering Design Ltd (CED), commissioned by Eastbourne Borough Council as part of a planning application for remedial works, has suggested its structures "are now considered to be in a critical state and dangerously weakened". It added: "Less costly options have been proposed for very short-term solutions to allow safe use for another season only. However, going forward, I see no alternative but to adopt a managed decline or demolition strategy for the most critical structures."

It adds: "Ultimately, the consequence of deterioration will result in the inevitable structural failure."

However, the local authority disagrees, reports The Argus.

Officials say £1.1million in investment will see the roof areas of both the south facing shelters and the supporting columns removed and each space opened up, exposing areas that have recently been closed off with hoarding.

When the work is completed, they add, these areas will again be available to Bandstand audiences.

A spokesperson for Eastbourne Borough Council said: "For the avoidance of any doubt, these comments by an external consultant do not relate to the main bandstand structure and stage on which performances take place.

"The summer programme of fantastic shows on the bandstand will be thrilling audiences this year, next year, and long into the future.

"The comments and our report to the planning committee concern work required on the lower and upper colonnades.

"This will enable these areas to be reopened to the public for the 2026 season.

"The council has invested around £1million in the bandstand since 2019, ensuring performances for the long-term.

"However, nearly a hundred years of winter storms battering the bandstand have left some areas in need of greater maintenance and repair - corrosion to the structure is documented as far back as 1982.

"And this is why we applied for heritage funding from the last government, but were disappointingly refused, and continue to lobby the current government for the support that important heritage assets such as the bandstand require."

Locals in Eastbourne recently had their direct train to London brought back after it "vanished" five years ago. The route between the capital and Eastbourne was halted in 2020 and locals have been campaigning since for it to be reopened.