Launch of the Ward Priority Workshops and a £90k investment in capacity building and public spaces improvements
The Eastbourne Neighbourhood Board has granted ten thousand pounds to each of the Town’s 9 Wards for capacity building and immediate public space improvements.
The monies are to be used to build cohesion across communities and enable people to have a better say in how their neighbourhoods look and feel. The purpose of this grant is to encourage pride and a sense of belonging across the town.
Improvements could include hosting a local event, painting, cleaning, pavement repairs, new bins, new street furniture, maintaining green spaces, improving play areas and local community centres, purchasing plants, gardening equipment and tools to enable residents to continue looking after and maintaining their local area. The residents can look to connect with local companies and tradespeople to maximise the benefits of this initial investment in neighbourhoods.
The workshops will be a partnership with the neighbourhood board, the Ward Councillors and residents, and will be integrated into already diarised meeting dates with local residents. Additional funding is also being made available to cover the cost of venue hire and refreshments. These workshops will also be used to suggest ideas and longer-term priorities at both Ward level and across the Borough. The intended outcomes are to make Eastbourne an even better place to live, more inspiring to work in and great to revisit.
The decisions on how to use the money for building stronger communities and making public space improvements will be entirely down to the people of the Wards. The community is being empowered to take control of the future of their neighbourhoods.
Richard Garland, Chair of the Neighbourhood Board said. “Communities are encouraged to come together, to be cohesive and co-create immediate small actions that can have the biggest impact. We hope this important investment can give people a better say, restore a collective sense of belonging and empowerment. This is about all of us taking care of the detail first, and if we can do that together then we can build trust in the process when it comes to making the bigger decisions.”
Everyone is encouraged to attend and take part in their local workshop. Further announcements will be made through the Ward Councillors regarding the dates for these workshops over the coming weeks.