End of an era for Trinity Place multi-storey car park

by Robert McGowan

During 15 years of living in Eastbourne, I’ve never actually driven into Trinity Place multi-storey and parked there. But I have occasionally ventured in on foot, to admire both the magnificent views across town from the upper floors and the building’s dark brutalism. How could such a large, muscular structure have been shoehorned into an Edwardian seaside resort, between town centre and seafront, and be un-noticed? And, it would seem, largely unused.

Following the collapse of its owner, NCP earlier this month, the administrators got to work trying to stem losses. Of the 340 car parks on the books, 20 were swiftly earmarked for closure – and Trinity Place was among them.

Why? I suspect it was due to a combination of low revenues ¬– I’ve only ever spotted cars parked on the lowest few floors of the 12-storey edifice – and a long (99-year) lease from Eastbourne Borough Council that began when it opened in 1971.

Presumably, the powers that be back then anticipated a future of droves of holidaymakers heading to Eastbourne in their Morrises and Triumphs and failed to predict the rise of out-of-town shopping centres, surrounded by tarmac seas of free parking. NCP themselves blame a post-Covid shift to flexible working and the steady rise of online shopping and home deliveries.

At Eastbourne Eco Action Network, we’re not in the business of mourning the passing of mighty concrete car parks. But we are wondering if their demise of could unveil silver linings. Might there be an opportunity to repurpose them – as urban farms like in Singapore and Birmingham.

Here in Eastbourne, I wonder if there is scope for a hybrid: the lower floors still used for parking, perhaps including the vehicles that currently line the busy seafront road. Those 80 spaces next to the sea wall could be better suited to a traffic-free cycleway – as seen in just about every other British seaside town.

The upper floors could be converted to an urban farm and perhaps a restaurant with the best views in town? Rooftop and wall-mounted solar panels could charge electric vehicles galore on the lower floors. What a story for a multi-storey in the UK’s sunniest town!