How has Eastbourne changed over the years? A brief history from a local IT professional

By Geoff Fielder

Isn’t Eastbourne where all the old people live?

For this discussion, let’s confine ourselves to the current century, as that’s probably the most relevant to anyone thinking about settling and/or working in Eastbourne.

Although I’ve lived all my life in Eastbourne, I’ve spent almost the whole of my work time elsewhere, commuting to or staying in umpteen places around the country, meeting new people each time. Why? Because I was a computer programmer and, back in the 1970s, IT work in Eastbourne was very difficult to find, with one or two exceptions such as the local authority.

As a freelance IT contractor, I had to seek work regardless of location. Almost without exception, when I revealed to a new colleague from where I came, the first response would be something like “Oh, isn’t that where all the old people live? My dad hired a deckchair there once. I had to hobble barefoot across the shingle to take a paddle in the freezing sea. We never went back. Has it changed then?”.

I never heard “Oh, you mean the south coast’s vibrant hub of digital technology?” or “Wow, Eastbourne! That trendy nexus of digital creativity and fervent nightlife!”.

But now, things are changing.

Demographic: an average age of 43

In 2000, Eastbourne’s population was around 89,000. As of 2020, it was more than 103,000, a percentage rise of over 15%, making Eastbourne the second largest district in East Sussex, after the city of Brighton.

It’s true that Eastbourne does have its fair share of the elderly - in 2013, the town’s Meads constituency became the first place in the UK with an average resident age exceeding 70 years. But that’s just one of many constituencies, which happens to grab the headlines.

Over the last couple of decades, the average age has pivoted towards the younger generation, drawn to the town by a significant amount of new-build housing, the harbour development and, of course, Eastbourne’s attractive climate.

Young family households have begun to balance those of retirement age and, as of 2014, 54% of residents were aged between 20 and 64, while 24% were over 65 years old, with an average age of 43, just a little over the median age of the UK.

Housing: something to suit all budgets

There is a good mix of housing available in Eastbourne. The largest contingent of Eastbourne’s housing stock was built between the late 19th century and the 1920s, what you might call Victorian or Edwardian. These are to be found mainly in the Old Town, Central and Meads areas of the town, from terraces to grand detached properties.

There was another surge of building in the 1930s, and again during the Macmillan boom of the 1950s, when large areas of council housing were built, comprising terraced and semi-detached designs.

Since that time, housing development has continued regularly, in line with the demands of the increasing population, especially towards the eastern part of the town, such as the Sovereign Harbour, with a huge mix of detached and semi-detached houses and apartment blocks, and also to the north-east, where Eastbourne edges ever closer towards Polegate.

So, whether your taste is for vintage with character or the latest stylish new-build waterside flat, there should be something that suits your budget.

Jobs in the Digital world: get more for your salary

Since the turn of the millenium, Eastbourne has gradually become more active when it comes to jobs in the Digital sector.

In 2016, UK innovation charity NESTA named Eastbourne as a "creative cluster", with 969 creative firms representing 9.1% of total businesses in the town and providing employment for 2,703 people.

Unemployment in Eastbourne was below the national average in 2013 figures, at 4.1% compared to 4.4% for England and Wales. The percentage of economically active people increased between 2001–2011. There has also been an upward trend in recent years, in the number of people with higher education qualifications.

It’s a fair suggestion that Eastbourne salaries, especially in IT/Digital, probably lag somewhat behind those for similar jobs in London and Brighton. However, the cost of living in Eastbourne is also a little lower than those places, so overall, you may be no worse off.

The average salary for a Software Engineer in Eastbourne is around £41k. In Brighton, the same job will earn you £51k and in London, £66k. It sounds like a lot more, but you will also pay a lot more for your home, be that rent or mortgage. In Eastbourne you have, arguably, more amenable lifestyle choices and a little more peace and quiet!

Entertainment and leisure: it’s not all bingo!

Last century, Eastbourne was all about bingo, the pictures (what we now call cinema), theatres, crazy golf, the beach, parks and gardens.

Nowadays, we’ve still got those things. Even the bingo. But there’s more. The town has a good selection of entertainment and leisure venues.

The Congress Theatre has been recently refurbished to its classic sixties design, and stages musicals, concerts and comedy productions by prominent artists from all around the UK and the world and the revamped Winter Gardens supports business exhibitions and local festivals.

Adjacent to the Congress Theatre, you’ll find the new Towner art gallery, recently moved from its old manor-house location in a nearby park, to a purpose-built contemporary structure.

In the town centre, there’s a new eight-screen cinema, sitting atop the recently extended shopping centre. Eastbourne has many more gyms and sports clubs than it did twenty years ago and for the children, there are soft play places, swimming, parks, playgrounds and of course, the beach.

In the outlying areas, there are play/educational venues such as the Miniature Railway, Knockhatch Adventure Park, Blackberry Farm and Drusilla’s Zoo. If you’re a walker or rambler, you have lots of scope, with the nearby massively chalky Beachy Head (which admittedly is really outside the scope of this article, having not changed much for a thousand years) and the massively grassy, generously footpathed South Downs countryside.

If golf’s your thing, you’ve got four clubs to choose from, compared to only three not so long ago…

Restaurants: a huge variety of all cuisines

Once upon a time, beyond the confines of the Lyons Tea Rooms (now sadly gone, but once a welcome oasis of tea and scones half-way through your Saturday shopping expedition), you’d have been hard-pressed to find much more than fish and chips, curry and the odd steakhouse.

This century, however, the number and variety of restaurants in Eastbourne has exploded exponentially year-on-year, and you can now take your choice from the likes of Thai, Indian, Greek, Italian, American, burger, vegetarian, gourmet, sandwich and coffee bars, across the town centre from the railway station, through Little Chelsea or the Beacon shopping centre, then on to the seafront, and further afield at the Harbour.

In addition, pretty much all of the local pubs in Eastbourne and the surrounding countryside and villages now offer extensive lunchtime and evening food choices. Many of the hotels these days have a restaurant open to non-guests. And, at last, Eastbourne now has a proper restaurant, the Bistrot Pierre, right on the seafront!

So whether you enjoy the occasional meal out or prefer to indulge most days of the week, there’s nothing to cramp your style, wallet permitting.

Oh, and of course, for those wishing to stay at home to eat, the likes of Deliveroo, UberEats and JustEat have reached our sunny town!

Coffee Bars: an unstoppable growth

If there’s anything by which to judge the social health and vitality of a town, the number of coffee houses is surely a convenient metric nowadays.

Looking back to the eighties, the choice of places for a coffee would have been something like the aforementioned Lyons Tea Rooms (closed 1981), one of the department stores such as the recently closed Debenhams or British Home Stores, or McDonalds of course, or one of the handful of cafes located near the seafront. The coffee itself was a world away from what it is now - probably not made with proper ground coffee, and served plain with optional milk and sugar. “Cappu-what? I think you’ve come to the wrong place, Sir. You could try that strange establishment opposite the pier.”

Over the last twenty years, the growth in the number of Eastbourne coffee houses still appears unstoppable. There are around twenty dedicated coffee shops in the town centre alone, many more in outlying districts of the town and at the Harbour, as well as all the restaurants and hotels which now offer “proper” coffee. And the good thing is that this includes many independent cafes (which also offer a good range of food), not just the well-known national chains. A few even do stuff on the side, such as floristry or pottery courses.

But then again, tea might be more up your street, and why not? One place that hasn’t changed much this century but deserves a shout out, is the brilliant little Dickens Tea Cottage. Originally built in 1719, it later became a boarding house, visited by Charles Dickens in the 19th century, when presumably a swift name-change took place. It’s been a tea room for about sixty years. They do a good Sunday roast too. You’ll find it at the top of South Street, the vibrant shopping heart of Little Chelsea, which features lots of interesting independent traders.

Harbour: the largest composite marina in Northern Europe

The Sovereign Harbour opened in 1993 and was originally just a place for local boat owners to moor and store their vessels. It’s now Northern Europe’s largest composite marina, with five harbour areas, retail outlets, restaurants and an extended mix of housing and apartments, numbering approximately 3500 homes. Pricewise, you can buy a small flat with harbour views from around £250k, whilst at the other end of the scale, a luxury waterside home with its own mooring will set you back over £1m.

The harbour is also now the permanent home of the Eastbourne Lifeboat.

Summary: there’s plenty here

So, in conclusion, whilst there’s still plenty to be done towards bringing Eastbourne into the 21st century, the town retains its Victorian and Edwardian charms, which make it an attractive place to live and work. It will, no doubt, continue to build on this trend to become increasingly popular and successful.