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Cheaper ways to travel by bus

Cheaper ways to travel by bus

Making sense of the new fare structures in East Sussex.

The £2 fare cap was introduced in September 2022 to make bus travel more affordable and to encourage more people to travel by bus. It also helped to make bus travel less confusing. Most adult fares were £2 so we knew how much each journey would cost.

The difference between the true fare and the £2 cap was made up from national government funding with money set aside extended to the end of 2024. The fare cap has been successful in bringing more people back to buses, but real and lasting change doesn’t happen overnight and the new government sensibly decided to extend the fare cap into 2025. However, the maximum fare has increased from £2 to £3. Some local authorities and operators have taken this change as an opportunity to review tickets and see whether lower fares can be offered.

Will you pay £1, £2 or £3?

East Sussex County Council have worked with local bus operators to reduce the impact of the higher fare cap using Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) money, which is separate to the national fare cap funding. There are now three single fares for adults, £1, £2 and £3.

On January 1st, some fares went down to £1, some stayed at £2 and some went up to £3. The fare you pay depends on the actual fare set by the bus operator – what you would pay if there wasn’t a national cap.

The table below compares the uncapped fare with what you pay now.

Uncapped fare You Pay
Under £2
£1
£2 – £2.99
£2
£3 or more
£3

As we have got so used to paying £2 fares, it’s hard to know what the fares for trips would be without the cap.

The safest way to find out what your bus journey will cost before you travel, is to check the bus operator web pages or use their apps (see links to bus operators below.)

At the time of writing, the same journey can have different costs with different bus operators. For example, a journey from Willingdon Church Street to Polegate currently costs £2 on Stagecoach buses and £3 on Brighton & Hove buses. The good news from the East Sussex BSIP team is that bus operators are currently reviewing some of their fares and adjusting them to make them more consistent. Watch this space.

Children’s fares are not capped in East Sussex, but they start from 50p.

Read on to find out about ways to travel for less.

stickman style cartoon of man sitting on a bench at a bus stop looking confused

Find the deal for you ...

Are you travelling with children?

Adult fare payers or concessionary pass holders can bring up to four children under the age of 19, for 50 pence each. You must travel with all of the children for their whole journey.

For children travelling without an adult, see  ‘Are you under 19?’ below.

stickman style drawing of woman and three children waiting a a bus stop. the children all have 50p written on their t-shirts

Are you catching more than one bus?

Remember, the fare cap applies to a single bus journey. If your journey involves catching two buses, the total price could be anything between £2 and £6 each way. Better deals are available and we’ve highlighted some of the best deals below.

Return fares

Stagecoach no longer offer return tickets, but check what the return fare is with Brighton & Hove Buses, Compass or Cuckmere as this may save you money.

Day Rider ticket

If your journey involves more than one bus, then an East Sussex Day Rider ticket may be your best option. Bus operators offer their own day rider ticket for use on their buses only. You can also buy the East Sussex multi-operator Day Rider ticket for use on: Stagecoach, Brighton & Hove Buses, Metrobus, Compass, Cuckmere, Big Lemon and Wealden Community Transport services within East Sussex.

A multi-operator day ticket will cost you:

  • £3.75 if you are under 19
  • £4.75 if you are 19-29
  • £6.10 if you are 30 or over

You can buy an East Sussex multi-operator ticket from the bus operators: either use the app or buy from the driver on the bus. If you are buying from the driver, be very clear you want a multi-operator ticket – they often assume you want one just for their services.

You can use multi-operator tickets on bus services within the East Sussex County Council area. Note that this area does not include Brighton & Hove, but if your trip starts or ends in East Sussex, you can use your Day Rider ticket. For example, if you travel from Eastbourne to Brighton on the 12, or 28 bus, you can use your ticket. If you make a trip that starts in Brighton and ends in Brighton, you cannot use your ticket. Similarly, you can travel from Eastbourne to Tunbridge Wells in Kent and back again on Stagecoach bus 51, using a multi-operator ticket, but you cannot use an East Sussex ticket on a journey that starts and ends in Kent. 

If you are under 30 and want to buy a  discounted ticket, you can use the ESCC Age Verification app. 3-ID cards can also be used as proof of age, along with official documents such as a passport or driving license, but you may not want to carry these official documents around with you.

line drawing of two buses next to each other

Are you under 19? (deals for school age children)

 These fares are for unaccompanied children:
  • The East Sussex weekly Freedom Pass for under 19s is still £15. With this bus pass, you can have unlimited travel (on as many bus services as you like with as many operators as you like) on any bus in the East Sussex area for seven days in a row, at all times and days of the year. (This price may be changed at end of July 2025.) The Freedom Pass is a paper ticket which you must buy on the bus. Use the ESCC Age Verification app to prove your age.
  • Off-peak travel (after 6pm on school days and anytime on weekends, bank holidays and school holidays) Unaccompanied children (under 19s) pay £1 for a single fare during off-peak hours.
  • If you travel to and from school within the Eastbourne and Hailsham travel zone (see below), Stagecoach offer a 7 day ‘Eastbourne child weekly ticket’ for £13.50. This is a paper ticket sold on the bus. It is not available from their app. To buy this ticket you will need to be in school uniform, or carry a valid 3iD card. See  Stagecoach information on fare deals for travelling to school, (also covers the annual Student Rider bus pass). 
stickman drawing of three children waiting at a bus stop

If you don’t travel every day

Stagecoach Flexi tickets with Stagecoach app

Flexi tickets are designed for people who have different travel patterns, for example hybrid workers who don’t have to travel to work every day. You can buy

  • Flexi5 – 5 Day Rider tickets for the price of 4, or
  • Flexi10 – 10 Day Rider tickets for the price of 7

Flexi tickets allow you to travel any time of day within specific zones. You can choose which days you want to travel on, as long as you use all tickets within 12 months of purchasing them.
You can buy Flexi tickets for the Eastbourne network zone, or for the Southeast network.

The Eastbourne network zone covers Eastbourne, Willingdon, Polegate, Hailsham, Upper Horsebridge, Roebuck Park, Stone Cross, Pevensey, Westham and everything in between.

The Southeast network zone covers bus services across Kent and East Sussex. (for example Canterbury, Ashford, Ramsgate, Margate, Folkestone, Dover, New Romney, Lydd, Rye, Tenterden, Northiam, Hawkhurst, Hastings, Bexhill-on-Sea, Pevensey, and Eastbourne network.)
You need a mobile phone and the Stagecoach app to buy and use Flexi tickets.

See also Stagecoach MegaRider 7 day and 30 day tickets.

advert for a stagecoach shows hand holding mobile with a flexi5 ticket on screen. Above the phone are the words 'Flexi5 - a bus ticket designed for flexible and part-time workers. Flexi5 - 5 DayRider tickets for the price of 4. Use them anytime in the same year.'
Eastbourne Area Bus Zone - click on the image to go to original document.

Going out for the evening? (from 6pm)

With the Stagecoach South East EveningRider you can have unlimited travel for one evening on all Stagecoach buses in the South East region until 04:00 the following day – adult fare £4.50

EveningRider group fares

The Stagecoach South East Group EveningRider is a new offer for up to five people travelling together in the evening. Five adults can travel together for one evening for £10.

Other group tickets from Stagecoach include East Sussex Group Day Rider, South East Group DayRider – see Stagecoach Group tickets

Bus Into The Future !

New (almost!) double decker buses have appeared on the Stagecoach Eastbourne route 1A in recent weeks, featuring audio announcements of next stops. This is very important for anyone with sight impairment, but reassuring for everyone on the bus – especially those new to bus travel or unfamiliar with the area. In due course, all buses will be required to install this facility giving us a ’step change’ in the quality of bus travel. The display on the front of these buses is in clear ‘white on black’ type, a departure from the current coloured type. Seating is comfortable and charging points standard.

New Improvements

ESCC EVENT- DISPLAYS ON SHOW:
ESCC EVENT- DISPLAYS ON SHOW:

Other improvements are to follow in due course including those unveiled at County Hall in mid-January. An invited audience of groups and individuals saw examples of bus stop information displays designed to help those with sight impairment, while benefiting all users. A large number of bus stops in East Sussex, Brighton and Hove (220) will see these installed, including an audio version with instructions in braille.

Maintaining and Improving Reliability of our Buses

Services restored and increased though the Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) over the last year have added journey opportunities and attracted new passengers. Their voices are now heard through bus user groups set up in Eastbourne and Hastings areas where concerns are aired and opportunities for improvements discussed with local authorities and bus operators. Improvements there certainly have been and more are in the pipeline with bus priority measures coming for Eastbourne to benefit bus services on the Hailsham – Stone Cross – North Langney – Seaside corridor as well as the Hailsham – Polegate – Willingdon – DGH – Eastbourne corridor. These are congestion busters!

BRIGHTON. AND HOVE ‘COASTER’ SERVICE 12 PASSING EXCEAT - SEVEN SISTERS COUNTRY PARK
BRIGHTON. AND HOVE ‘COASTER’ SERVICE 12 PASSING EXCEAT – SEVEN SISTERS COUNTRY PARK

To the west, the success of the popular Brighton and Hove 12/12X13X routes is worthy of note. The proposals between Eastbourne and Brighton are key to its continuing success and development against a backdrop of congestion hotspots, so we strongly support those measures proposed for: A259 Upperton Road – Station Parade, Eastbourne; A259 Newhaven, The Drove – Denton Roundabout; A259 Telscombe Cliffs – Peacehaven.

Conclusion

Buses are certainly getting better: wi-fi is now standard along with the ‘kneeling’ function to allow easy access for all.

Derrick Coffee

EEAN Transport Group

Franchising or Enhanced Partnerships?

Deregulation

By the 1980’s bus services in England were in decline, with rising costs, increasing subsidies and so in order to address this problem the government of the time decided to deregulate bus services. This meant that private bus operators were allowed to set up bus routes, timetables, services and fares. This process was not a disaster, but the ever-increasing popularity of the private car weakened the need for buses. What we have now is a patchwork of bus operators who prioritised the most profitable routes at the cost of reducing services on less attractive routes such as those in rural areas.
Bus companies do not have to make all their bus routes profitable and to their credit they do run some routes at a loss paid for by more profitable routes.
Currently most bus routes in the Eastbourne and South Wealden area are operated by Stagecoach but East Sussex County Council (ESCC) subsidise some non-commercial bus routes mainly in rural areas, additionally ESCC also operate the free bus pass scheme for older people.

Bus Back Better

Buses are the most important form of public transport in England accounting for 53% of public transport journeys. But the number of bus users and bus miles is falling. In 2023 bus passenger numbers fell to 3.4 billion from 4.6 billion in 2009.
In March 2021 the Department for Transport announced their plans to improve bus services in England via ‘Bus Back Better’. This resulted in roll out of Bus Service Improvement Plans including Enhanced Partnerships (EP) and franchising options, but very few bus franchising schemes have been introduced.

What is an Enhanced Partnership (EP)?

An EP is a model through which the local transport authority and bus operators jointly agree a plan to improve bus services. The plan is a voluntary arrangement and attracts funding from government.
East Sussex County Council currently operate an EP with declared aims such as:
• Improving fares and ticketing
• Improving bus infrastructure
• Introducing bus priority measures
• Reduce harmful emissions
• Improve digital accessibility
• Improve public transport information

Inside of Bus
Inside of Bus

What is Franchising?

Franchising is a model of providing bus services where Local Transport Authorities (LTAs) such as county councils take control of how buses are run, this could be on a specific route or a particular area and ask bus operators to bid to operate these routes.
The LTA would specify the route, frequency of service, timetable and fares. The current government is keen to further improve bus services and so is encouraging LTA’s to introduce franchising schemes.
Franchising is not a new idea and is the model currently used in London, the Channel Islands and in many regions and cities in Europe. Greater Manchester has, this month, just finalised the third tranche of their franchise network and Liverpool are well underway in their planning.

Why we need good bus services?

Bus Stop
Bus Stop

• There are many people in society that do not have the luxury of having their own car or motorcycle and to them good bus services are vital.
• There are those that are unable to drive or are too young to drive, they too need good bus services.
• Buses connect our communities and allow access for many to health, leisure and education services.
• Good bus services can also get people out of their cars and so free up road space which will assist in making buses more reliable.
• Using buses will help us reach our carbon reduction targets.
• Less traffic on our roads will lead to less pollution.
• If bus services become more profitable through greater passenger numbers, then funding can be invested in electric buses.

Cambridge and Peterborough consultation document

Some thoughts:

• Analysis seems to show that franchising brings more benefits.
• Enhanced partnerships will mean less financial risk to transport authorities.
• In a shrinking economy can we afford to place a greater financial burden on local authorities?
• The main opposition to bus services is the private car, which is just too convenient, this will not change without a huge shift in public values which is not going to happen soon, if at all.
• Do local transport authorities have the expertise to operate bus ticket strategies, bus fare policy, network design, bus timetables etc?
• The setting up of a franchise scheme would have very large set up costs.
• Perhaps a compromise position could be reached whereby some areas have a franchise scheme while neighbouring areas have an Enhanced Partnership?
• Most franchising schemes that are currently in place or are being planned are in locations with high population densities such as Manchester and Liverpool. East Sussex is very much a rural area and hence will be more costly to operate a bus service.

Unitary Authorities

In January 2025 East Sussex County Council applied with West Sussex County Council and Brighton City Council to become a Mayoral Strategic Authority. It is reported that this could unlock significant power and resources to these areas. Transport could be one area to benefit if more funding becomes available as the authority could potentially introduce franchising schemes.

Conclusion 

At the end of the day either the Franchise or the current Enhanced Partnership model will improve bus services in the area.

David Everson
Eastbourne ECO Action Network
Jan 2025

Transport/ Planning Integration

Transport and Planning integration is the key to a sustainable, healthy future.

In the big battle against climate change, the one missing yet key weapon in the armoury, accepted by all policy makers for decades but infuriatingly absent in practice, is the full integration of ’transport’ and ‘planning’.

We must abandon ‘silo thinking’ around ‘transport’ and ‘planning’. They should be integrated to avoid the procession of car based developments being delivered across the UK. Until that happens, we won’t increase the take-up of shared transport (bus/train/tram) and increase levels of walking and cycling necessary to meet targets. At the same time it will improve the nation’s physical and mental health.

Fewer cars will free up space for nature, housing, business and children’s play and reduce congestion. Policy documents have recognised this over 50 years: delivery on the ground is sadly the exception. The new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) must deliver such integration if it is to be fit for purpose. Failure to do so would be unfair both to current and future generations.

Based on a letter published Jan 2025  in iNews  

Derrick Coffee

Living with a Heat Pump

There seems to be a reluctance for people to install heat pumps even though there is a generous grant of £7500 to help with installation costs. The government’s target to install 600,000 per year has been woefully missed with only 72,000 installed in 2022.
Recent surveys show that only 16% of people are likely to install a heat pump in the foreseeable future. Part of the reason for the low uptake is misinformation in some sections of the media. The cost of fitting an ASHP to a 3 bedroom property is about £12,500, but the actual cost becomes £5,000 when the grant is taken into account, this is comparable to fitting a new gas boiler.

Fear of the unknown!

Many people are unsure about heat pump technology, even though virtually the same technology has been used in fridges for over 100 years. Other concerns are about noise, where to place the heat pump, the potential need for larger radiators in the home. Heat pumps run off electricity, which is expensive when compared to gas – sooner the government stops using electricity prices to subsidise gas prices the better it will be for the uptake of heat pumps.
Of course, not many people are going to remove an operational gas boiler just to have a heat pump installed, although that is exactly what I did just over a year ago.

Why install a Heat Pump?

Heat Pump

I decided to install an air source heat pump, solar PV and battery storage in order to make my home carbon free in terms of its energy supply. Virtually everyone is going to have to have a carbon free energy source by 2050. The sooner we do it the better if we are to restrict climate change to manageable levels.

How does an Air Source Heat Pump work?

• Electrical energy is used to operate the air source heat pump
• Air is drawn into the pump and energy is removed from air which makes it colder
• The energy extracted from the air is passed on by the heat pump to heat the domestic hot water or heat the home via radiators.

Magic, well not really!

. Process Map

Because the energy taken from the outside air is free the system works very effectively.
If the heat pump uses 1 Unit of electricity from the grid it can provide 3 Units of energy to the home.
The energy I purchase to run the heat pump is from carbon free sources, hence no carbon is emitted in providing energy to my home.

Things to consider!

Water Tank

• The heat pump needs to be placed outside with unrestricted air flow around it.
• The pump can’t be placed within 1 metre of a property boundary.
• The pump needs to be as close as possible to the hot water tank so as to reduce heat losses.
• The system stores hot water rather than producing it on demand
• The heat pump can’t have a volume greater than 0.6 m³ due to current planning regulations. Most companies design their domestic heat pumps to be just less than 0.6m³

• Central heating radiators will potentially need to be replaced with ones that have a larger surface area,  this is relatively easy to do.

Radiator

• The heat pump makes very little noise and can’t be heard inside the house.
• Currently most heat pump systems are ‘low temperature’ in that the radiators do not get very hot as they would with a gas boiler. This means that rooms take longer to heat up.
• Heat pumps work best in well insulated houses (as do gas boilers).

Does it work and at what cost to maintain?

Yes it works. My heat pump provides both hot water and heating throughout the year and there have been no problems. Maintenance is done via an annual service which costs £112 /year.

Over the past year, 2024, the heat pump took 2700 Units of electricity (kWh) to run. But because the heat pump captures free energy from the outside air, the total energy output I got from the system was 6750 kWh –(this figure was somewhat disappointing as expectations were for 8100 kWh- the system has now been recalibrated and hopefully next year the higher figure will be achieved).

Do the Maths.

• If I take 2700 Units from the grid and 1 Unit of electricity costs £0.25 then the cost of running the heat pump to provide household heating and hot water for a year is:
£0.25 x 2700 = £675
• The energy out of the heat pump system in terms of hot water and room heating is worth:£0.25 x 6750 = £1687 That is amazing!

How to find out about heat pumps?

• Check with your energy supplier, many now install heat pumps as part of their services.
• Costs will vary depending on the size of your property, the type of heat pump.

Free information session

There is a free session on Air Source Heat Pumps to be run by Eastbourne Eco Action Network and Energise Sussex Coast on Tuesday 28th January from 7-9pm, in the Willingdon Trees Community Centre. For more information, contact Eastbourne Eco Action Network.
See you there?

David Everson
Eastbourne Eco Action Network
Jan 2025

20 MPH Reducing Injuries

What would make the biggest difference to reducing the ‘Killed and Seriously Injured’ (KSIs) on the roads in East Sussex ? The answer looks like 20mph. This has been shown to be true in Europe and the UK. So why is East Sussex failing to understand this and will the May 2025 County elections make a difference to the approach?

ESCC Current Policy

One of the ongoing issues within East Sussex County Council (ESCC) is their determination to stick to their current policy PS05/02 towards  20 mph zones and limits. There have been numerous motions, from opposition councillors, to change their approach but all have failed. This has also meant that in the latest list of planned improvements there are none around 20mph.

Elsewhere in UK

So what would a lower limit of 20 mph do? Remembering that most higher speed limits, such as 40, 50 and 70 mph would stay the same.

Similar reductions have been seen in parts of Scotland and councils such as Oxford.  It would appear that across the UK nothing has made as much of a difference to reducing KSI figures as 20mph .

One of the concerns is that drivers will not accept the 20mph. However research from DfT shows poor compliance at higher speeds. Plus having some vehicles been driven at 20mph may well affect the behaviour of others

 

 

Even if the number of incidents stayed the same the severity of injury is less, if the speed limit is reduced.

ESCC overall approach

So now it is  worth examining neighbours, where East Sussex is  worse than equivalent councils

Source West Sussex

So one view, might be that ESCC are trapped by their own bureaucracy, in reducing all their interventions to very small scale schemes. This does not have a major effect on the overall KSIs and keeps East Sussex at 150% (See above) of the  England KSI average per mile. Currently large sums are spent on consultation, Traffic regulation orders, match funding, sifting, rejecting, reviews and very little on delivery and construction. This is not the most cost-effective option.

The main arguments put forward by ESCC are:-

    • 20 mph limits only reduce speeds by 1 or 2 mph
    • There will be a greater burden of the Police
    • The ESCC targeted approach is better
    • To be effective, speed limits need to be set at a level which appears reasonable to a driver
    • They do not have sufficient funds to meet all the 20mph requests.

Item 4. Above should be re-worded to read, ‘where it is reasonable to a pedestrian’, who is after all the most vulnerable road user.

For more background  it is worth reading the full ESCC Scrutiny Review of 20mph You can follow their logic. But the key question is, ‘Has their existing policy made a difference?’  Yes, perhaps safety is increased in very small, selected areas but overall on a county wide basis the numbers are still poor when compared to other counties.

RoSPA

Now let us look at the evidence of how 20 mph limits and zones do make a significant difference. This is an excellent review by the Royal Society of Prevention of Accidents and gives a good analysis of where they have been implemented.

20 mph limits have been shown to reduce traffic speed, although not as much as 20mph zones with traffic calming. However, they are considerably less expensive to implement, which means that wider areas can be covered. They also provide additional benefits, such as encouraging more physical activity, such as walking and cycling. They can also greatly improve the character of a residential area and quality of life of the residents. 20mph limits are most appropriate for roads where average speeds are already low… and use of the road also gives the clear impression that a 20mph speed or below is the most appropriate.

RoSPA’s guide to 20 mph

Local Transport Plan

So is there hope for the future in the Local Transport Plan 4 (LTP4)? Covering up to 2050. The answer is not encouraging, with ESCC sticking to the same mantras:
The delivery of lower speed limits including 20mph speed limits and zones in the County is done in accordance with East Sussex County Council adopted Policy PS05/02. This policy reflects national guidance and best practice for setting speed limits.”and “The LTP4 policies clearly highlighted that the adopted ESCC Policy PS05/02 is the determinant for setting lower speed limits in the county”

Other links

For further reading There is plenty of evidence and examples at

20splenty.org

Wales and default 20mph

Conclusion

• East Sussex has a much higher than average number of KSIs
• The current approach of small piecemeal interventions, of all  types of schemes,  is not making enough difference to overall road safety. Spending large amounts resisting and rejecting schemes rather than implementing.
• Higher speed limits do not make for good ‘placemaking’, a requirement of LTP4

It is hoped that the May 2025 Council elections will change the balance of power and result in a different direction.

Paul Humphreys – EEAN Transport Group

Review of 2024: a personal perspective from our Executive Director

Looking back on 2024, it’s clear that the transition to a Net Zero Eastbourne is gathering pace. Eastbourne DGH, through its decarbonisation project which started in 2022, has now become the first renewable heated hospital in the UK after having replaced its steam heating system with a 4.8MWth multi-stage heat pump system, which provides renewable heat to the building. Coupled with the solar PV array over one of its car parks, and a major insulation retrofit to improve the thermal efficiency of the hospital, the DGH will now be reducing its carbon emission by 4,100 tonnes per annum, amount to a cumulative total of 24,600 tonnes by 2030, a significant contribution towards the town’s Carbon Neutral 2030 target.

Another step change in Eastbourne’s renewable energy transition will occur when the Suncoast Solar Farm is built within the next few years, after having been granted planning permission by Eastbourne Borough Council earlier this year. When completed, the solar farm will have a capacity of 20MW, equivalent to supplying the power needs of 6,400 homes. This is a big step up from the mere 5 or 6 MW of solar power capacity currently installed across the borough.  When local microgrids and regional energy pricing becomes a reality over the next decade or so, then the renewable power from the solar farm can be sold direct to local residents and businesses, reducing energy bills locally because solar power is so much cheaper than fossil fuels. There has understandably been much local concern about the need to protect the biodiversity of the site when the solar farm is built, and one of our members wrote a blog post about this issue, which can be adequately addressed if an appropriate biodiversity management plan is implemented, as many existing solar farms in the UK demonstrate.

But these large projects have to be supplemented by supporting individual households across the borough to gain access to renewable energy and energy efficiency installation schemes, as domestic properties account for more than 40% of the town’s overall carbon emissions. So Eastbourne Eco Action Network (EEAN) has this year continued to develop an ever stronger partnership with Energise Sussex Coast, an award-winning community energy cooperative. Together we have developed an Eastbourne Energy Champions network of trained volunteers able to give basic energy advice to local residents and signpost them to sources of expert help – such as Energise Sussex Coast provides – if they are in fuel poverty or need to make their homes warmer. A second round of Energy Champions training began in Eastbourne a couple of weeks ago and will continue in 2025, so if you wish to receive free training to become an Energy Champion volunteer, please let us know. The more, the merrier!

Another big source of carbon emissions in Eastbourne is the transport sector, which is not surprising given the high degree of dependence of the town on cars for moving around, coupled with the lack of Active Travel infrastructure such as safe cycle lanes. To raise awareness about the need to make local cycling safer, especially for kids going to school, the 4th Eastbourne Kidical Mass Bike Ride took place in May, which many EEAN members joined in with. The lack of bus lanes also restricts the quality and reliability of the local bus service, but progress toward rectifying this was achieved this year when East Sussex County Council approved plans to put bus lanes in Seaside, a key arterial road in town notorious for its traffic congestion. Many EEAN members engaged extensively with the consultation process in order to support the introduction of the bus lanes.

But further improvements are needed to local bus services to make travelling by bus a much better alternative to driving for local residents, which is why this year EEAN set up an Eastbourne Bus User Group, bringing together local stakeholders to collaborate on making these improvements. To encourage people to think about driving less, EEAN’s EcoTransport Group once again organised a Car Free Day in Eastbourne, in Hyde Gardens. EEAN also held a very productive workshop in February about the latest Local Transport Plan (LPT4) prepared by East Sussex County Council.

For a fuller picture of all that is being done in Eastbourne to make the town more sustainable and carbon free, please look at our One Planet Eastbourne community ecosystem digital platform, which is hosting plans made by some local businesses, including those who get free support from EEAN to help devise such plans. Some local businesses do show great climate leadership through their efforts to become more eco-friendly and environmentally sustainable, and Richard Garland gave a keynote speech at our Eastbourne Carbon Neutral 2030 Symposium earlier this year to explain how his business is progressing on its sustainability journey.

Given that the impacts of climate change are arriving thick and fast now, the need for climate adaptation is becoming ever more urgent. Part of such adaptation is figuring out how local food growing can be better protected  from climate impacts such as increased flooding incidents, increased frequency and severity of droughts and heatwaves, and so on. EEAN has partnered up with Eastbourne Food Partnership and Blue Heart to investigate how local food growers are coping with such impacts and what strategies, if any, they are using to better adapt to those impacts. Part of that investigation involved visiting local groups involved in community food growing, such as Gather Community Garden, Pevensey Bay allotments, Pevensey & Westham Community Forest Garden, and Langney Community Centre. A presentation on EEAN’s research on local food growing and climate change was made at the recent Eastbourne Food Summit.

Other highlights this year was exhibiting at the Spring Water Festival Eco Fair, wonderfully organised by Plastic Free Eastbourne, and engaging with the pop-up Climate Hubs in the Beacon shopping centre in collaboration with volunteers from the Eastbourne Climate Coalition. We’ve also engaged with the hard-working volunteers of the Eastbourne United Nations Association, who have a fantastically effective carbon sequestration programme that is supported by many residents and organisations in the borough, as well as by Eastbourne Borough Council. It’s also worth a shout-out to the magnificent volunteers of Treebourne, an organisation EEAN helped to develop in its early days. Treebourne has planted many thousands of new trees across the town, which will not only help wildlife but also create vital shade to help significantly cool the streets and public spaces when the inevitable intense heatwaves arrive.

Eastbourne Borough Council continues to reduce its own carbon emissions, and the latest yearly update to its Climate Change Strategy is now available online. An independent assessment of the progress the council is making with its Climate Change Strategy, compared with all other comparable local councils, is available from Climate Emergency UK, which has a detailed scorecard for Eastbourne. EEAN continues to collaborate with the council on ways to develop and improve its climate strategy; to assist this collaboration, all the directors of  EEAN have received the Certificate in Carbon Literacy from the Carbon Literacy Project after receiving training organised by Community Energy South.

EEAN also engages in the community consultation process  that the Environment Agency organises regarding its Pevensey Bay to Eastbourne Coastal Management Scheme, which this year published its plans for protecting the local area from flooding for the period 2027 to 2037. The success of this scheme is vital if Eastbourne – a low-lying coastal community very much in the front line of climate change – is to have any kind of viable, sustainable future in the long-term.

But while we still have our present coastline to enjoy, another EEAN project this year was to design an upgrade to the East Sussex Coastal Culture Trail, a key tourist route that connects up some of Eastbourne’s cultural assets with other cultural assets all the way to Hastings. The upgrade is necessary due to the current lack of safe connectivity between destinations along the trail, especially for walkers and cyclists. Bringing together the many stakeholders who need to collaborate on such an upgrade was a key part of the project. To facilitate that, EEAN and Bespoke Cycle Group organised a Summer Cycle Ride for them so that they could see for themselves exactly where the upgrade is needed. With Active Travel improvements to the trail, the local tourist economy would benefit from increased visitor numbers, coupled with an increased uptake in cycling, facilitating a modal shift away from car driving along the coast.

To conclude, I wish to express my heartfelt appreciation and thanks for the tremendous work of so many volunteers to help drive forward climate action locally, action which helps make the town better for all through co-benefits such as cleaner air, safer streets, greener public spaces, etc. We all deserve a rest over the festive period! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to one and all!

This Annual Review was prepared by EEAN’s Executive Director, Andrew Durling, who also prepared the Annual reviews for 2022 and 2023.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Growing in a changing climate: an Eastbourne Food Summit presentation

Guest blog by Robert McGowan from the Eastbourne Eco Action Network CIC, based on his presentation at the Eastbourne Food Summit in October 2024:

We at Eastbourne Eco Action Network are helping the town become carbon neutral by 2030, which means working with communities, businesses and the local councils on the many environmental challenges we face. One of the things we can do is bring people together and give people the chance to tell their stories and discuss openly the most effective ways to take action.

Two years ago, we organised the Sustainable Business & Solar Summit next door at the Welcome Building – and one of the key questions we wanted to ask was: we live in officially the sunniest town in the UK – so why is there so little solar energy generation? Particularly on the large flat roofs of the industrial and retail units – and the enormous car parks that surround them.

Last year we convened the Sustainable Transport & Active Travel Summit at the Welcome Building, which also brought together lots of experts and brilliant people. The leading question I wanted to ask was why Eastbourne is practically the only seaside town in the country without a safe, traffic-free way of riding a bicycle or scooter along the seafront. I’m not sure if we have the answer to that – but at least we publicly asked the question! Fast forward to this year – and the theme of the conference is sustainable food production and distribution in the local area – brilliantly organised by the Eastbourne Food Partnership. I’m not sure if they have a key question to frame the theme this year – but can I suggest one: how is it that the sunniest town in the UK can also seem to be one of the wettest?

Illustrated map of the Eastbourne area

Helen Cann, 2003

And it’s the impact of a changing climate on local food production – growing – that I’m going to talk about today. We’re currently working on a project with Blue Heart, which is looking at innovative ways to predict and mitigate the impact of flooding in Eastbourne and southern Wealden for the benefit of local people, businesses and the environment.

Learning about the real experiences of growing is the heart of our project – as such we have developed a survey that’ll go out to everyone involved in the Eastbourne Food Partnership in the next few days.

So the theme is change. But perhaps I should start with something that hasn’t changed very much at all: the rock and soil that lies beneath us. This is one of William Smith’s famous – and beautiful – geological maps of Sussex, from 1819. It shows the green of the chalk South Downs that of
course meets the sea at Beachy Head. The light blue is Wealden clay, and the greyish bit in the middle is Hastings Greensand – which is often more substantial than the word sand suggests and forms the blocks from which St Mary’s Church in Old Town is made.

Geological map of Sussex

William Smith, 1819. The Geological Society.

 

The open, treeless downland was created thousands of years ago by Neolithic farmers, who built imposing, fortified villages on hilltops. Much of the East Sussex downs continued to be farmed and grazed through the Iron age and Roman times. The great forests of the Weald were sometimes cleared for hunting estates in the Saxon period that would have included livestock and crops. The Sussex iron industry was built on the iron-bearing clays and sandstones that were scorched in blast furnaces fuelled by charcoal made from the surrounding woodland.

 A Delineation of the Strata of England and Wales and Part of Scotland

William Smith, 1815. The Geological Society.

And of course, the different underlying rocks and clays and their varying character and chemical composition had implications for what could be grown where – and the growing community here will be far more knowledgeable about that than I am. But, as George Monbiot points out in his brilliant book Regenesis, much about soil does remain mysterious:

“Soil is this thin cushion between rock and air on which the entirety of human society and civilization is built. 99% of our calories come from it. It’s an extraordinarily complex ecosystem.

It’s more than that – it’s a biological structure, like a coral reef. It’s built by the organisms that inhabit it. If it weren’t for those organisms, there would be no soil. But it’s also got properties, unlike any other ecosystem or biological structure that we know.

In fact, there’s quite a heated debate among some soil scientists as to what soil even is. It’s got some characteristics which make it seem almost like a super organism, in that they get these extra-ordinary synchronized events taking place right across the soil. It is incredible that this system upon which we totally depend is almost unknown to us.”

Eastbourne remained an area of small rural settlements until the 19th century. Four hamlets occupied the site of the modern town. By the middle of the 1800s most of the area had fallen into the hands of two landowning families: the Gilberts (who had inherited land from the Gildredge family) and the Cavendish family. William Cavendish, the Duke of Devonshire, hired Henry Currey in 1859 to prepare plans for an entirely new resort town – and the rest is history.

Perhaps slightly less well known, is the story of Mary Ann Gilbert. Born in Lewes in 1776, she had a relatively poor childhood after her father died. In 1814 she inherited swathes of land and property in Sussex from her uncle. She was married to Davies Giddy, who took on the Gilbert name: they lived at Gildredge Manor and had eight children together.

Mary Ann Gilbert 

Ozias Humphrey, 1796

Shocked by the extent of hardship and poverty in Sussex in the 1820s, which led to the Swing Riots, Mary Ann set up a scheme to cultivate land at Whitbread Hollow, beyond Meads and on the way to Beachy Head, which is now a sports field belonging to Bede’s School. She hired 27 labourers to shift fertile clays from nearby marshland and transport it to the allotment site – and remove flints and pebbles. They managed to produce a healthy crop of potatoes.

By 1832 Mary Ann had nearly 200 people renting allotments, growing mangelwurzels, turnips and potatoes and the occasional pig. She kept detailed reports and calculations and encouraged good practice such as using seaweed as fertilizer and introducing water butts. The number of allotment holders had doubled to over 400 by 1844. She also founded agricultural schools at Willingdon and East Dean that were staffed by teachers from the local workhouse.

Mary Ann Gilbert’s experiment reduced poverty in Sussex by almost half. It was an agricultural revolution that was the foundation of the allotments we see across the country. I think you’ll agree, it’s a really inspiring story of a local woman and one I didn’t know until very recently – I must thank Sally Lee from Rooted Community Food for enlightening me – it’s a shame she can’t be here today.

Mary Ann Gilbert died in 1845, but her legacy is still felt. Eastbourne Allotments & Garden Society, has overseen the town’s 14 allotment sites for many years. The society currently rent out over 1,200 plots, all of which are in high demand, with hundreds of people on a three-year waiting list for a plot.

Whitbread Hollow

Robert McGowan, 2017

Could it be that allotments are actually becoming fashionable? I’m beginning to think so. And why not? We seem to be in an age of anxiety – be it technology overload or concerns about pollution or the reliability of exports and imports from neighbouring countries. And this seems to be a time when lots of people want high quality, healthy, affordable local fruit and veg – plus social contact with like-minded people, exercise and a general warm glow and sense of wellbeing. That’s certainly what I’ve picked up from my visits to the Gather and Rooted community gardens. They’ve kindly agreed to fill in our survey about growing in a changing climate – and hopefully many of the other local growers will too.

Gather Community Garden

Robert McGowan, 2024

We will analyse the results and report back in a few weeks’ time. Perhaps not surprisingly, given the very wet weather over the last couple of years – rainfall around 30% above average this year – and the fact that many allotments and gardens are located on the floodplain – the feedback so far has centred on designing ways of improving drainage on plots. French drains and wicking beds have been mentioned, along with more water butts and ponds.

In recent weeks we’ve been talking about fundraising for a community cargo bike that can help with deliveries to community fridges, food banks and retailers. We might be better off with a community cargo boat!

Rooted Community Food

Robert McGowan, 2004 

 

A video of Robert McGowan’s presentation at the Eastbourne Food Summit is available here:

Bus lane in Eastbourne gets a step closer to reality

Eastbourne Eco Action Network (EEAN) welcomes the decision to approve the new bus lanes. The East Sussex County Council (ESCC) Lead Member for Transport and Environment now supports the revised plans for bus priority measures along Seaside and St Anthony’s Avenue. This being part of the county council’s Bus Service Improvement Plan.

The second public consultation showed that the majority (56%) of replies supported the new plans. Following concerns from local residents and businesses, changes have been made to the original proposal with the result that there will be more parking places than originally planned along the route.

The new plans are predicted to have little or no detrimental effect to journey times along the two roads but would reduce bus journey times, greatly improve reliability and make the bus an attractive alternative for short, local and cross-town trips.

Local councils want to support public transport, walking, cycling and wheeling. ESCC have received £41 million from the government to support better bus services. Bus priority is important for Eastbourne to be able to move to a more sustainable transport system in the future. Buses provide transport for all members of the population including the old, young, disabled and those unable to afford cars.

EEAN are confident that the bus priority measures will be successfully introduced and that local businesses will continue to thrive.

https://www.sussexexpress.co.uk/news/opinion/bus-lane-in-eastbourne-gets-a-step-closer-to-reality-4879544

David Everson

Chair EEAN Transport Group

Let’s try and agree on new transport schemes

There has to be a better way to implement new transport schemes, than making two sets of campaigners, fight it out.

Seaside

The contentious Eastbourne Seaside bus lanes, which have now been agreed by East Sussex County Council (ESCC), still have to be redrawn and then go back to the Department for Transport , for a third time, for final sign off. Large amounts of money have already been spent on redesigning, two consultations, micro modelling traffic flows, health and safety and equality assessments . All this while nothing has been built and a year has gone by.

Non Bus Lane Options

However is seems that outside of the formal process it is possible for the various campaigning sides to agree what they think would work.

In terms of the £41M Bus Service Improvement Programme (BSIP) measures this includes:-

A scheme, proposed in the BSIP consultation, of a 100m ‘bus gate’ at then end of Atlantic Drive and the Crumbles, that would join the North and South harbours for buses. Perhaps a modified version of the 5 and 5A could then run along the seafront and through the harbour. This could lead to a faster and more regular service for the new housing developments.

Priority Traffic Lights for buses, where they actively change the lights, to let them through. You can see the idea at Huggetts Lane in Willingdon , where lights miss a phase if nobody wants to turn right or the green light stays longer if more traffic is on one direction. This makes the traffic flow better. Now add in the detection of buses and perhaps have longer, or earlier green phases. Of course the other vehicles on the same carriageway would also benefit. ESCC have £1.5M for 34 locations where there will be priority lights. Let us make the most of these time savings.

These are both examples of widespread support. There is then less likelihood of campaigners disagreeing and more of the tight budget will be spent on actually building schemes.

Cycling

The same idea should also be used for cycle routes, where there is a often a consensus, that off-road routes do not cause issues for motor vehicles. Such successful schemes include Horsey Sewer, Cuckoo Trail and the A27 shared path to Firle. So let us prioritise these where possible, instead of contentious and poorly configured solutions that are ‘shoehorned’ into narrow spaces on roads and footways.

Based on letter in Eastbourne Herald and Sussex Express ( on line)

Paul Humphreys – EEAN Transport Group