Eastbourne Town Centre
The Eastbourne Town Centre Improvement Scheme (ETCIS)
The Eastbourne Town Centre Improvement Scheme (ETCIS) was a joint project between East Sussex County Council and Eastbourne Borough Council, which saw Eastbourne’s town centre transformed. The objectives of the ETCIS was to:
• Modernise Eastbourne’s town centre
• Create an attractive pedestrian friendly environment addressing previous issues of pedestrian congestion experienced along Terminus Road.
• Create civic space along Terminus Road for cultural and social activities
• Support local economic growth by providing a step change in the quality of the environment for local residents and visitors to Eastbourne.
Works Completed
The project saw the installation of new bus lanes and bus shelters, a high quality granite road surface and new paving, seating and landscaping in Terminus Road, Cornfield Road and Gildredge Road. Terminus Road is currently Eastbourne’s main commercial corridor. It was laid out as a conventional carriageway, with footways on either side of the carriageway. It was also the location where the majority of Eastbourne’s bus service connected, therefore acted as an ipso facto bus station. This resulted in a dense congregation of buses in a busy pedestrian area. This led to pedestrian congestion and had a negative effect on the quality of the public realm and as such did not help create a welcoming and relaxing environment within the town centre. The ETCIS not only addressed this problem, but incorporated imaginative design solutions to enhance Terminus Road and its immediate environment.
New street furniture was installed including cycle racks, granite benches (some of which had architectural lighting), plus other benches in Cornfield Road and by the Railway Station. Finger posts and wayfinding nodes were also installed to provide directional assistance within the town centre and surrounding area.
£6.2m
Value of development
87 weeks
Development time
Eastbourne Town Centre
Eastbourne, UK