Town Centre panel priorities are:
- Drunks in the Town Centre
- Anti-social behaviour/lack of respect
- The condition of some Town Centre pavements
- Vehicles Driving on the Pedestrian Precinct in Terminus Road
Next Meeting
The next meeting will be held at 7.00pm on Thursday 29th July 2010 in the Council Chamber at Eastbourne Town Hall
27th May 2010
Installation of a Controlled Traffic Crossing in Ashford Road
This has been approved in principle by East Sussex County Council and awaits budgetary provision.
Anti-Social Behaviour, Late Night Licensing
The situation remains fairly constant at the moment. Plans are being made to anticipate the World Cup.
25th March 2010
Anti-Social Behaviour, Late Night Licensing
Although it is pleasing to note that the recent poor weather had served to calm things down slightly there is still the need for constant vigilance to maintain the Police and Licensing Departments robust response to incidents.
10th January 2010
Speeding Traffic in Seaside Road
Although this area has been monitored no cases of speeding have been detected.
Poor Quality Lighting in Wharf Road and the Alley through to Enterprise Centre
This matter has been referred to East Sussex County Council. Additional police patrols have been initiated.
Anti-Social Behaviour, Late Night Licensing
An update on Police and Council activity in this area is available in the minutes of the meeting. Elms Avenue and the NCP Car Park in Trinity Trees were identified as being problematic at the moment.
26th November 2009
Benches outside Post Office
Proposals are progressing and it is hoped to implement them in the spring. The gating of the access road besides the Post Office is also being pursued.
Cycling on the Pavement in the Town Centre
Since the last Panel meeting fifty warnings and one fixed penalty notice have been issued for cycling in the Town Centre. Forty warnings were also given in the Seaside Panel area.
Poor Quality Lighting in Commercial Road and St Leonard’s Road
This matter has been referred to the Highways Department at East Sussex County Council.
New Priority – Poor Lighting in Wharf Road and Concerns about the Alley through to the Enterprise Centre.
Issues were identified at a recent street meeting. The Police and the Borough Council are looking into the situation.
New Priority – Speeding Traffic in Seaside between Bourne Street and Langney Road
This area is hazardous as the bend is quite tight and motorists are not taking this into account.
15th October 2009
Street Drinkers in the Town Centre
Following the Eastbourne Herald’s front page article readers’ letters and a follow up article quoting Police action were published in the subsequent weeks. The situation has improved at this location following all this publicity.
Benches outside Post Office
Proposals for alternative seating arrangements are being developed. The intention is to deter street drinkers congregating in this area but to maintain the facility for shoppers and visitors.
Late Night Parking in Devonshire Place
The parking restrictions and signage are being looked at to identify changes as a result of the introduction of Civil Parking Enforcement for this area.
Driving with Excessive Speed in the Town Centre
Twenty six penalty notices and many warnings have been issued in the affected area since the last panel meeting. Noisy exhausts which give the impression of greater speed are a particular issue.
New Priority – Cycling on the Pavement in Terminus Road
The pedestrian area between TJ Hughes and Debenhams was identified as being particularly problematic with a high risk of injury to pedestrians. Better signage is required.
New Priority – Poor Lighting in Commercial road and St Leonard’s Road
Inadequate lighting in this area which is used as a cut through to the station was identified at a recent street meeting
10th September 2009
Street Drinkers in the Town Centre
There was little further to report on this issue at the meeting as the strategy is now firmly in place. The Police continue to challenge antisocial behaviour by street drinkers and this will be reported on to future meetings.
Subsequent to the meeting the local paper contained a prominent article on the problem of street drinkers on the benches outside the Post Office. This makes the new priority proposing the replacement of the benches at this location very timely.
Anti-Social Behaviour, Late Night Licensing
This continues to be a major source of concern to Town Centre residents and businesses. Strict conditions were applied to the Funktion Rooms before there licence was reinstated.
Student Antisocial Behaviour
The Police arrangements for briefings to students as part of a more proactive approach to deal with student antisocial behaviour are now in place.
As Street Drinkers and issues to do with antisocial behaviour and late night licensing will continue to be a regular priority for the Town Centre Panel it was agreed that other issue which needed addressing should be identified as priorities for referral to the District Panel.
New Priority - Benches outside Post Office
Concern was raised about the further problems which occurred at this point. It was agreed that they should be removed to see if this made a difference.
New Priority - Late Night Parking in Devonshire Place
Problems caused by illegal parking from 10pm onwards were described. It was agreed that enforcement by the Police should be considered as the Parking Enforcement Officers do not operate at this time.
New Priority - Driving with Excessive Speed in the Town Centre
Vehicles going too fast for the road conditions were identified.
30th July 2009
Street Drinkers in the Town Centre
There are now six ASBOs and one curfew in place to deal with this problem. Although the general situation is improving there are still occasional incidents which require police intervention.
Anti-Social Behaviour, Late Night Licensing
This continues to be a major source of concern to Town Centre residents and businesses. The Police are currently reviewing the staffing allocated to Operation Marble which deals with the late night economy. It has been agreed that the Chairman of the Panel will object to all new licence applications on behalf of Town Centre residents in support of Eastbourne Borough Council’s Accumulative Impact Policy.
Vehicles Driving on the Pedestrian Precinct in Terminus Road
All businesses have been contacted and enhanced enforcement is now in place.
New Priority – Student Antisocial Behaviour
The Police have been asked to provide briefings for students in addition to those given to Brighton University as part of a more proactive approach to deal with student antisocial behaviour.
18th June 2009
Street Drinkers in the Town Centre
One ASBO is now in place and the street drinker concerned has been arrested a number of times and spent time in custody for failing to comply with the conditions of his ASBO. There was clear evidence that the situation is improving.
Anti-Social Behaviour, Late Night Licensing
It is quieter when Police are in Elms Avenue. Plans are in hand to arrange for some posters to be displayed and some CCTV options are being explored. The Eastbourne Borough Council Licensing Manger is collating information for further consideration.
Condition of Town Centre Pavements
It has been confirmed that the area outside the Funktion Rooms has been included in the programme to provide a veneer coating to improve the surface.
New Priority - Vehicles Driving on the Pedestrian Precinct in Terminus Road
Vehicles are driving on this area to make deliveries outside of the designated times. This is unnecessary as all but two of the premises have rear access for this purpose.
7th May 2009
This meeting was well attended with many new residents. Positive progress was reported on two of the three priorities.
Street Drinkers in the Town Centre
A number of ASBO applications are now with the Police Solicitor as part of the process of deterring street drinking. Further evidence to support this approach has been provided through a petition of 130 members of the business community concerned about street drinking near their premises. There has been a considerable improvement to the situation but constant vigilance is required to maintain this. Areas where the displaced drinkers congregate have been identified and are being monitored.
Anti-social Behaviour and Lack of Respect
The Windermere Court residents confirmed that the previous problems have been resolved and it was agreed that youth disturbance at this location should no longer be a priority.
Condition of Town Centre Pavements
The Chairman reported that he had written to the appropriate officer at Eastbourne Borough Council and will report progress on this at the next meeting.
New Priority - Anti-Social Behaviour, Late Night Licensing.
A resident described the disorder that regularly occurs in and around Elms Avenue as a result of late night licensing. It was agreed that this area should be prioritised by the Police to see what steps could be taken to improve the situation.
12th March 2009
Excellent progress has been made on all three priorities identified at the previous meeting and the Chairman thanked all concerned.
Street Drinkers in the Town Centre
Since the last Panel meeting when street drinkers was agreed as a priority a range of measures have been introduced. This has brought about a considerable improvement. The new section 27 orders, which require people to vacate an area, have proved particularly effective. In addition to this other enforcement measures have been used and evidence is being collected to be presented to support ASBOs for persistent street drinkers.
The Panel in welcoming this news expressed concerns that although this was a success for the Town Centre it merely displaced the problem to other areas and street drinkers are not being helped to address their problems. The Panel was reassured to hear that the Police and Council were committed to discouraging street drinking in any places that cause offence. They were also told that when drinkers are in the enforcement system then referrals for support and treatment can and often are made which can lead to a more permanent improvement for the street drinker.
The Panel agreed to keep this as one of their priorities.
Anti-social Behaviour and Lack of Respect
A productive meeting has been held between residents and a language school to discuss disturbances created by students congregating outside it in the evening. The residents’ representative thanked the Police for their involvement and told the Panel that the situation has improved markedly.
The Panel discussed the wider issue of finding acceptable evening activities for young people in the Town Centre. They welcomed that this is a priority in the Devonshire Neighbourhood Action Plan and agreed that this should continue to be one of their priorities. They asked for further information to be supplied at the next panel meeting.
Use of CCTV to Monitor Town Centre Incidents
Acting Inspector Julian Williams reported on the improvements to the CCTV operation since the last meeting. The Shop Watch link has been restored and the new digital system allows situations to be viewed and downloaded for evidence purposes to desktops in more police stations. This represents a major improvement over the previous system. In welcoming this news the Panel agreed that this should stop being one of its priorities.
New Priority – The Condition of some Town Centre Pavements.
During a discussion concern was raised about the condition of some Town Centre pavements, the state of some empty properties, poor quality street lighting and the lack of street rubbish bins. It was agreed that the condition of pavements should be the third priority and that the Chairman should contact East Sussex County Council to progress the issue.
8th January 2009
The inaugural meeting of the Town Centre Neighbourhood Panel was held in the Council Chamber at Eastbourne Town Hall. Following an introduction by Sergeant Julian Williams to explain how the new neighbourhood panels will operate there was general discussion of current concerns.
From these three priorities were agreed to take forward to the next District Panel Meeting.
Street Drinkers in the Town Centre
Street Drinkers are proving to be a problem at the moment and are frequently congregating outside the Post Office in Terminus Road. The Police are seeking to pursue a strategy where the Council will prosecute for contravening existing Bylaws so that ASBOs can be used for persistent offenders. This approach was welcomed by the meeting and it was agreed that this action should be commended to the District Panel for immediate implementation.
Anti-social Behaviour and Lack of Respect
Town Centre residents frequently experience noise during the evening and night time from anti-social behaviour. This is often associated with the night time economy as people make their way to and from late opening pubs, nightclubs and takeaway food outlets. There are also instances where people congregate around street benches and cause considerable noise to nearby residents. It was pointed out that in extreme cases the benches may be removed but the situation could be alleviated by changing the style of bench.
Noise from language students in Trinity Trees was discussed and it was agreed that this location should be referred to the District Panel for action.
Use of CCTV to Monitor Town Centre Incidents
During the discussion it emerged that CCTV is not being used as effectively following the monitoring being moved to Brighton. It was agreed that this was a worrying development and that our concern should be communicated to the District Panel.
Devonshire Project Priorities
Prior to the Neighbourhood Panels being created there has been extensive consultation and many public meetings held to enable town centre residents from the Devonshire Ward to contribute to the Devonshire Neighbourhood Action Plan. The three priorities from this plan listed below are therefore part of the baseline for the new Town Centre Panel.
To reduce overall crime in the Devonshire Ward by 20% as recorded by the Police, during the lifetime of the Crime Reduction Plan from the baseline year 2007/8
Since the majority of crime occurs in the town centre there is a heavy focus on this part of the ward. The action plan contains many activities to address particular types of crime.
Improve cleanliness of streets and alleyways
Environmental Visual Audits (EVAs) in which the Police and Council Enforcement Officers review an area are now firmly established in the town centre. In addition to this Operation Synergy which is repeated twice yearly provides an in depth clean up involving many different agencies.
Provide positive activities for young people to be involved and improve facilities
Proposed activities include exploring a late night facility in the town centre for young people on Friday and Saturday and improving drop in facilities for young people.
Devonshire Action Plan
Introduction In 2005 the Devonshire Ward Area Profile was published as a result of an initiative by the Eastbourne Strategic Partnership. This involved a large community consultation exercise together with a bringing together of factual data on the ward drawn from a number of different sources.
The profile described considerable areas of deprivation and need. The report led to the creation of the Devonshire Project, a coordinated strategy which involved key partners from the statutory sector together with other interested parties, most importantly the community itself.
A Steering Committee was established and partner agencies developed and refined strategies to address the needs into their service plans. A dedicated Devonshire Neighbourhood Worker was appointed in June 2006.
This Neighbourhood Action Plan therefore starts with a review of progress over the first two years of the project. Sections 2 to 10 use the headings from the Eastbourne section in Pride Of Place, the East Sussex Integrated Community Strategy.