£470,000 cash windfall for Eastbourne housing

Eastbourne Borough Council has landed a £470,000 windfall for new housing after making three successful bids for ‘shovel-ready’ developments in the town. The winning council bids were submitted to the government’s Brownfield Land Release Fund that targets local authority-owned sites where land can be used for the development of new homes. The £470k will see £200k earmarked for Cavalry Crescent in Old Town, 70K for Fort Lane in Roselands and £200k for Southfields Road in Upperton. The funding will deliver up to 44 new and affordable homes across the three locations. Councillor Alan Shuttleworth, Cabinet Member for Housing, said, “This funding initiative was very competitive and so I’m very grateful to our officers for their excellent work in pulling together compelling bids that secured this significant amount of funding. “I have made no secret of the geographical challenges we face in Eastbourne in developing much needed new homes, but I’m very encouraged by the progress we are making, especially with other projects in the pipeline.” The funding is the culmination of partnership work between the council and Strategic Property Asset Collaboration East Sussex (SPACES), which is the One Public Estate group for the county hosted by East Sussex County Council. Eastbourne MP Caroline Ansell added, “We need more homes and more family homes in our town but that must be achieved in the most sustainable and sensitive ways and not come at the cost of vital green spaces. “I understand the pressures we are under to deliver housing so this money recognises we need Government support and I am delighted it has been secured. “It will make a difference and it means more homes built in a more sustainable way.”