Consultation opens into controversial flowerbeds

Residents, visitors and businesses have been invited to share their views on controversial flowerbeds in East Sussex.

In 2025, a new planting style was introduced at Eastbourne seafront's Carpet Gardens, which have been a tourist attraction for many years.

Eastbourne Borough Council said the changes were needed to make the display more environmentally sustainable, better for wildlife and durable against extreme weather.

However, some in the town said they were "disgusted" as the flowerbeds now looked like "cat litter trays".

Katrina Tutt, owner of Qualisea Fish Restaurant, told BBC Radio Sussex she was unhappy and disappointed with the change.

"It's horrible," she said, warning that visitors could be deterred from coming to the town if the seafront looks "very run down".

"Everybody is moaning about how awful the seafront looks.

"The original Carpet Gardens have been there for over 100 years. [They are] synonymous with Eastbourne."

She said the change was "nothing like what they [the council] promised".

Eastbourne Borough Council said alongside the new planting, one section of the Carpet Gardens had remained in the traditional summer bedding style, allowing people to compare the two approaches side by side.

It added that the traditional scheme required plants to be replaced twice a year "at significant cost" and "with no real benefits for biodiversity".

The new display was designed to create an attractive, year‑round display, the local authority added.

Tutt, who has campaigned for the Carpet Gardens to revert back to the traditional floral display, urged everybody to have their say in the consultation.

"Then hopefully we'll get what the majority want instead of a harebrained scheme," she added.

Councillor Jim Murray called the Carpet Gardens "one of Eastbourne's most well‑loved spaces".

"We know people feel strongly about how they should look," he said.

He added that views received in the survey - which is running until 31 August - would "help determine what happens next".

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