Why are Eastbourne’s parks and gardens so poorly maintained?

Would someone from Eastbourne Borough Council care to explain why Eastbourne’s parks and gardens have so little maintenance?

I refer to those in Redoubt i.e. the Pavilion Gardens, the Redoubt Memorial Garden and Princes Park. The grass is cut but not much else.

I walk through all of these parks most days so see what is done, mostly nothing.

The Pavilion Gardens are especially shabby. It is often litter-strewn especially around the benches and in the bushes, in part due to there not being a single litter bin, whilst there are weeds growing everywhere and the small stones and wood chippings from the beds are all over the paths and are never swept up.

The lamp posts and the “Eastbourne Remembers” signs need restoring. This is long term neglect, not just Covid-19 related.

I suspect that litter picking is done by members of the public.

I typically pick up about 50-100 items of litter each day on my walks and I know others do.

The poor maintenance not only is unattractive for residents and visitors, it is disrespectful for our war dead who are remembered in these gardens.

Princes Park normally has a high standard of gardening but the main man from Idverde, the council’s garden contractor has been ill. But it does not explain why Idverde has failed to replace him with someone else.

Litter remains a problem especially around the edges of the park not helped by the constant mess around the recycling bins in Wartling Road.

Recycling should be good for the environment but it has led to blight.

This all adds up to a thin green line – poor maintenance and value for money for council tax payers. Eastbourne deserves better.