You now have until 5pm on Tuesday 1 December to comment on Eastbourne's Local Plan, not 13 November. The council blames email notifications that never arrived.

Eastbourne residents have an extra two and a half weeks to comment on the town’s new Local Plan. The deadline has moved from 5pm on Friday 13 November to 5pm on Tuesday 1 December 2026.

Eastbourne Borough Council gives the reason on its Local Plan consultation page. It says the period was extended “due to technical issues that prevented some email notifications being delivered”. It does not say how many people were affected or which messages failed.

The council warns that representations received after the new closing date and time may not be accepted.

What has changed, and what has not

  • The deadline is now 5pm on Tuesday 1 December. The representation period opened on Friday 2 October, so it now runs for almost nine weeks instead of six.
  • The rules are the same. Comments still have to argue that the plan is, or is not, legally compliant and “sound”.
  • The next step is a special meeting of Full Council, which the council’s meeting calendar lists for 6pm on Monday 21 December at the Town Hall. Its agenda is not yet published. In September the council said the plan would return to a special meeting in December for approval to submit it to the government.

The plan proposes 4,400 homes from 2025 to 2042, against a government-assessed need of 11,730. Our full guide to the consultation sets out where the homes would go, neighbourhood by neighbourhood.

What it means for you

If you meant to respond and had not got round to it, you now have until 1 December. If you signed up for email updates and heard nothing, this may be why.

You can comment in four ways:

  • online, against the section of the plan you are commenting on
  • through the online representation form
  • by email, sending the form to LocalPlan@lewes-eastbourne.gov.uk
  • by post to Planning Policy, Eastbourne Borough Council, Eastbourne Town Hall, Grove Road, Eastbourne, BN21 4UG

A comment that names a policy, gives a reason and proposes a change carries more weight than a general objection. Your name will normally be published with it. Questions go to the Planning Policy Team on 01323 410000, quoting “Eastbourne Local Plan”.

What is being proposed near you, and other applications in the borough, are on Eastbourne planning news.

Sources