The sad decline of British seaside towns 🇬🇧 

In the past the was loads of people coming down from the north for long weekend, filling the seafront hotels. Many of the hotels are now migrant accommodation. No longer spaces for as many visitors, so less money coming into the town.

Hampden Park with the lake ,is one of Eastbournes best kept secrets ,great for walks,play area for kids,not many cars,love it.

I was in Eastbourne for the 7 Sisters in 2017. It seemed okay, but what struck me was that the cab driver didn’t say a word on the way except “Do you know people come here for suicide?” Then he fell in silence. The cliffs were amazing though.

I would say Eastbourne is one of the nicest sea-side towns on the Southcoast, lovely coastal walks, parks, affluent areas, and the southdowns which is great for long walks and hiking..an area i thoroughly enjoy visiting for the scenery and a nice-break 👍

How can a country so lovely be so damaged? It has been over 20 years since my last visit to England / Brittan but bloody hell. How can a government trash such a lovely place. Wow.

Sorry, I keep on forgetting. On the summer weekends it's really busy. Even yesterday on Friday town was packed, people were singing and there weren't any dodgy people around. I was quite surprised as I hadn't been in the main town part since last summer, the place now looked well looked after and it was happy yesterday, some good street performers where the crowd were singing and dancing. Another thing about Eastbourne is that there is a very string community that does their best to keep the place clean, and it was pretty clean and tidy. Another reason why only relatively wealthy people come down to Eastbourne, is because its very expensive, not only to live but to stay. Eastbourne has some brilliant restaurants but the prices aren't too far off from London prices. And people would rather go abroad as you can go for quite cheap. Loads of hidden gems in Eastbourne, especially round the little villages scattered around where you'll more than likely find beautiful coffee shops and pubs.

Eastbourne is a gem of a city, and I'm sure if you're aiming to find bad parts of any town you can find them. I would hardly call what you shown a "decline."

Craig house (2.26) is part of Eastbourne College (a private school) they broke up for the summer holidays end of June. The town center and seaside have seen better times. A lot of the wealthy residents who used to commute to London moved further inland into Sussex away from the coast. I grew up in Eastbourne and the town centre is in a horrible state.

Such a sad look at my old hometown 😢 I was born here in 1960 and lived here until 1999. It was a beautiful place to live and grow up in, plenty to do, lots of jobs etc. I visited in 2001, 2004, 2007 and 2009, I could see the decline in the town centre starting, especially at night I no longer felt completely safe, rough sorts and violence had started to show it's ugly face. Maybe it's best not to visit again? I'll remember it as the town once was which held my heart and great memories. I now live in Northern California in a town/city of around 50K population and it seems much safer here and certainly in better condition.

Thanks for your video. I now want to revisit this coastal town. I see potential there. Wonderful architecture, peaceful environment.

It’s a shame the people have let Eastbourne become so run down and deprived. It could be so much more.

Thanks for a really interesting video. The western side of Eastbourne is very prosperous. The centre of town has suffered recently but that's a broader problem across the UK. I think Eastbourne is actually gradually becoming more gentrified not less, driven by the excellent climate, countryside and period properties, as the "daily commute" becomes less of a thing. Sure, it's taken a while to rotate away from being a working/lower middle class "seaside resort" but that ship sailed decades ago. Eastbourne suffers from having very little Higher Education money (the greatest levelling up mechanism in the UK, rarely talked about) compared to, for example, Brighton, as well as slower rail services to London (but see comment above about the lessening importance of the daily commute). It's an attractive town for people who have reached retirement age, but that's not a bad thing as they tend to bring their accumulated savings with them. All-in-all, I would say Eastbourne has a decent future. I should add that I don't live in Eastbourne (I am over near Lewes). I would recommend the Towner Gallery which is excellent - fabulous art gallery, cafe/restaurant and (now) a cinema. Starting to sound like the local Tourist Board ...

Unfortunately, once pleasant and select post-war coastal resorts were transformed by London councils dumping their problem families out of mind and out of sight down on the coast. Places like Hastings, Eastbourne, Worthing, Bognor etc suffered greatly as a result…

To be fair to Eastbourne, this isn't just an Eastbourne problem - most seaside resort towns are on their arse to some degree, compared to they heydays of the 1950s-1970s. The invention of the package holiday in the late 1970s was the start, but there's wider macro causes too: significant rise in disposal income, greater annual leave allowances, and the endless holiday shows on TV during the 80s and 90s, replaced with online stuff from the 00s. Covid travel restrictions aside, you'd have be mental or on the interpol watch list to want to spend a fortnight in Eastbourne for the same or more money as a two week all-inclusive package to somewhere in the Med. At the same time the package holiday boomed, the Thatcher era saw the wholesale sell off of council housing stock to tenants. Population growth from the 90s onwards, against the the lack of social housing, meant that councils started using guest houses/B&Bs as temporary accommodation. Given the vast majority of Guest/B&B is in seaside resorts, that's where people got shipped to. Net result - councils pissing money away on landlords who have no compelling reason to keep the property nice, the socially deprived and care dependent (drug addicts, homeless, etc) getting moved to coastal towns, and little to no tourist income. For a while, East Sussex Council was doing a roaring trade in taking everyone else's problem cases and putting them up in B&Bs in Hastings, Eastbourne, and Bexhill. Eastbourne was a quiet retirement backwater when I was growing up in Sussex. Presumably the people that had holidayed there in the 1950s and 60s and had fond memories. But inevitably that generation of retirees gets replaced, but by the late 90s it was much easier to retire to the Med. On top of that, there's also been a subtle cultural shift in retirement habits in the UK - these days people are much less likely to hit 65, sell the suburban family home and buy a bungalow in a quiet seaside town. People are having kids later, and increasingly providing childcare for grandkids, which tends to keep them in the same area as their kids until later in life. All that said, I think it's worth looking at the other side of the coin to the seaside towns that have boomed and thrived - mostly in Cornwall. There the opposite has occurred - second home money has destroyed the property market for locals. As nobody can afford to actually live there properly, these places start to die too.

I just thought Eastbourne was a retirement home.

It's all by design. Slowly but surely. Alcohol and pubs will be next, making way for the islamic state of Britain.

I went to the seven sisters as well years ago and found it nice and tranquil there with the chalk cliffs!

I'd like to add that this is has lot to do with covid. I think you'll find this in most UK towns and cities not just seaside towns. You could have mentioned these: -Eastbourne is still under the jurisdiction of the Duke Of Devonshire which is why, unlike some seaside towns, tattoo parlours, kebab shops etc are not allowed on the seafront. -Eastbourne has a Towner Gallery which houses art that you may find in galleries in major city galleries such as the Tate. -Eastbourne hosts an International tennis tournament every year with the Williams sisters and Andy Murray and their followers adding an extra cosmopolitan feel to the town. -Eastbourne has the Grand Hotel which again helps the economic footfall of the town. it was the inspiration for Casino Royale and Debussy wrote Le mer in, wait for it!, the Debussy suite. -Micro climate -the town centre is a 30 minute walk from the South Downs national park. -1hour and 25 mins to Victoria via train.

Um! Very selective indeed.And you mentioned Bournemouth which receives three and a half million holiday makes every year .A Beautiful town and amazing beach But if you only go to look at empty shops Then that's what you will find in any town .If you check up on Brighton you will find over 15 national well known shop chains have closed down in the last few years . Eastbourne is a lovely town if you would bother to look at it properly.Of course it hasn't got golden sands like Bournemouth and Sandbanks but it's still nice with the pebbles and stones.

As an Eastbourne resident, I can sum you up the parts of Eastbourne and where and where not to live. Poor parts Langney and Shinewater, where lots of the "so called negative and scummy people live" for a lack of better word. Drugs problem. Some parts of seaside are really bad down the wreck park. Roselands is very good for middle aged couples with kids, as there are quite a few schools and nursery's in that area. Quite nice but overpriced. Willingdon is very nice, good properties but expensive. Hampden park is quite nice, but all depends what areas. Meads is very nice and where all the multi millionaires live. Ratton village is lovely as well, wealthy. Old Town is very nice aswell. Harbour is brilliant Overall its a nice place to live and I love living here, nice people. But in some of the scrappy areas it can become quite unsafe, but Eastbourne has more positives than negatives

Good to see you getting a few more subs, you deserve more. Good content again.

I do love Eastbourne, the cleanest seaside in UK, Seagulls are desperate, hence the ice cream stealing 🍦🍦 The Debenhams use to have a gorgeous staircase. Fuschiardi ice cream parlour do lovely ice cream 👍😁😎

You can see the decline everywhere. Everything just looks tired, outdated and decrepid. Civic responsibilities too have gone down the toilet. Weeds everything. Grass not cut properly. Litter. Boarded up buildings. Crumbling infrastructure. Roads full of potholes. It's the same all over the UK. Here in Cornwall it's no different. Away from the glossy exterior everything just looks like shit. No real employment, no money in local economies, no prospects, no hope, nothing to look forward to and to boot - crap weather.

You just reminded me I miss Eastbourne. You didn't see the main part of town & shopping mall. Also there is a stunning park at Hampden Park. Maybe you need a revisit it is suffering with hotels being taken over to house the migrants 🙄

you avoided the main town center and indoor shopping center and any decent part was obviously edited out to make Eastbourne look far worse than it is. eastbourne has better shopping than hastings. Eastbourne has pretty much the same retail stores as any major high street, such as next, river island, m and s, prime mark. where was this in your video ?. every town has good and bad parts all over the country.Also all the seafront hotels were not included.

Oh and sorry once again. Eastbourne Borough football club are looking to become a successful league football club in the near future as the backer has a lot of dosh and wants to get more people to come to Eastbourne. It's definitely got a bright future even if the rest of the UK might not look like it

I see you haven't got over Luton yet, Ed! A good video.

Another good video mate. Always enjoy your content.

As much as there are signs of decline, I have to admit Eastbourne is a bloody nice place to live. As depressing as it may look in the video, during the summer it's wonderful and packed. Any seaside town that's downcast or not in season is going to look kinda shite. Video is still valid though, and its definitely new to see hastings over take the place, a few years ago, hastings was worse. The closing down of the university has likely shafted the remaining young population that used to fill the nightclubs on mondays, wednesdays and fridays and thats a shame.

I used to work in Eastbourne 2011 was nice. Took my grandson on a welsh beach friday and the lifeguard came over and warned us against going on the beach cos of the sewage seaside towns are probly finished sadly for many reasons

I’ve lived in this town for five years it really isn’t a bad place , of course, you have your odd bit of theft and occasional youth violence and people from foreign backgrounds making Eastbourne their home and obviously bringing certain elements with them. For me, it’s much better than living in London

Oh and i forgot to mention, Eastbournes main problem, is the population. A town that is home to well over 100,000 where it really should be home to half that. Many people are really wealthy in Eastbourne and its a beautiful place. Regarding the shopping centre, i do find it enjoyable ane there are some good shops. But some places are boarded up due to the astronomical rent, not too far from London prices. I went on a 15 mile walk round Eastbourne yesterday, from treasure island through town and onto the beautiful cliff's and the people in town were no trouble at all, its only when it gets dark the weirdos come out. Same as every town though. The nice areas of Eastbourne will always be nice and haven't changed at all. Its just places like Shinewater have gotten worse and been filled with drug people from.London. Shame, but Eastbournes probably one of the nest large towns to live in if youre middle class and abobe

“entire town centre” you completely missed the brand new shopping centre next to the train station - quite misleading.

Well - peak of summer eh? Look at the weather!! No wonder the British seaside is in decline when you can go and get actual sun and a sandy beach for a few hundred quid and a fews hours...

Uk as an island does not sit at a good location to have good beaches. It's cold, windy and just not as blue as let's say Spain or Italy and France.

Well the pandemic killed the economy worldwide- Eastbourne is still a lovely place though but a the population is getting worse 😢

You don't really know the history of the town so perhaps research first? ❤

I've seen your videos on Eastbourne and Hastings. If you had to choose one to live in, would it be Hastings or Eastbourne?

I went to Eastbourne many years ago and really enjoyed it there!

That was not the town centre.. you didn’t visit The Beacon shopping centre.. this video is totally misleading.. google The Beacon in Eastbourne.. this video is absolute rubbish..

This is really negative video. The cinema closed because of the new cinema at the Beacon Centre. Debenhams has closed throughout the country. I spent a lot of time here and although it has its problems, the facilities and natural features more than compensate. I was lucky to spend most of the covid pandemic there.

I love it when a foetus gives us his vast wisdom

Did you add a filter for some effect? or is it really this blueish-gray irl?

I lived in Kings Park and it was nice really, the bungalows were not very well built, the town centre l never went to but Charlie Brown's restaurant was the best in town.

eastbourne is lovely old but great dont run eastbourne down has a lot to offer

Do these places vote tory for years of austerity and brexit

Or maybe the privatisation of railways led to the death of people making journeys to seaside… it’s cheaper to fly to flipping greece than to take a train from Edinburgh to Brighton

A lot of what you say is nonsense. The cinema closed because a new one opened just down the road. The department stores were doing good business until the owners went bust. What pleasure do you get purposely avoiding a town's good bits and concentrate on the worse bits. You missed the town centre completely. Brighton is a lot more run down than Eastbourne.

This video is garbage! Unreal he walked past the towner art gallery and didn’t even show it 😮 along with loads of other nice new buildings!

Eastbourne looking crazy

There's no doubt English seaside towns have gone down. Everybody has followed the sun to Spain ect.

Doesn't portray eastbourne at all to be honest

where are you from originally

end of a cycle bro.....decay has much further to go.

u deffo went there on wrong weather season? where is our summer?

if you had bothered to walk the other way of terminus road you would have seen alot better image of the town and the revamped beacon centre with cineworld . i found the video to only show the bad bits and not the good bits trying to just give a negative view of the town. maybe do avideo when the tennis is on or airbourne which is the largest free airshow in the uk would show you how good and popular our town is.

Your not going to the centre

front........line,,dec =decline !!!!!!!!

you want to do vid of bexhill next thats ok but like everywhere has its issues. one think bexhill is famous for is cars , and racing of cars

13:00 woahhh

Jumping on the bandwagon eh

Hello how are you 😊😊

If you live in London you are not going to Eastbourne. You will head to Spain etc.