Eastbourne College is selling the 11.6-acre St Andrew's Prep site in Meads with plans for up to 151 homes, and will argue against a community cricket pitch.
The St Andrew’s Prep School site in Meads is up for sale. Eastbourne College has told the agents its 11.6 acres could take up to 151 homes.
That is half as many again as the 100 homes the council’s draft Local Plan allows. The seller also says it will argue against the plan’s demand that the playing field, pavilion and sports hall stay open for community use, with a cricket pitch kept for local clubs.
The details are in a sales brochure from agents Vail Williams, dated August 2026. It went out while the Local Plan’s final consultation was being prepared. That consultation is now open, and anyone can comment on the site until 5pm on Friday 13 November.
What is for sale
Vail Williams says it has been instructed by Eastbourne College to market the site “following a decision to consolidate operations onto a single site”. The school is moving to the college campus, which the brochure puts about a mile east. No price is given: it is “upon application”.
The brochure lists:
- 11.6 acres (4.69 hectares) of freehold land off Meads Street, Darley Road and Dukes Drive, postcode BN20 7RP
- about 95,000 sq ft of buildings, including teaching blocks, boarding for more than 50, staff housing, a chapel, a pavilion, a sports hall and a swimming pool
- vacant possession expected by the first quarter of 2029
- a sale “as a single comprehensive opportunity”, for continued school use or for housing-led redevelopment, subject to planning
The college intends to keep running the children’s nursery in its own building by the Meads Street entrance, with five parking spaces. The brochure says it may still consider selling the nursery with the rest.
The draft Local Plan gives the site area as about 4.8 hectares, a little more than the brochure’s 4.69. The brochure says its own floor areas will be confirmed by a measured survey.
Two layouts, both above the council’s figure
The brochure includes two indicative masterplans. Neither is a planning application.
| Option 1 | Option 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Flats in converted school buildings | 36 | 36 |
| New-build flats | 25 (one block) | 69 (three blocks) |
| New houses | 44 | 46 |
| Total homes | 105 | 151 |
| Care home | 65 beds | None |
Both options keep the Victorian and Edwardian buildings. Both show the pavilion as a community building, with community gardens and a play area. The brochure also says there is “scope for up to 165,000 sq ft of residential development”, by conversion and new build.
What the Local Plan asks for
The council’s Local Plan 2025-2042 allocates the site for 100 homes under Policy SA29, on page 141. The conditions include:
- the existing playing field, pavilion and sports hall kept as community facilities
- a cricket pitch, with the pavilion and sports hall, secured for community use through a long-term management arrangement
- a large equipped children’s play area for new residents and the rest of Meads
- affordable housing under the plan’s Policy HO1
- the Victorian and Edwardian buildings kept and converted where appropriate
- design that protects the Meads Conservation Area and the setting of the South Downs National Park, which borders the site to the south
The plan explains why. The council’s Sports Facilities and Playing Pitch Strategy (2026) found there is not enough cricket provision for current and future demand. It says keeping one pitch here for community use “would satisfy demand to 2042”. It also recommends keeping the modern sports hall, so new building should go on the already built-up eastern part of the site.
The seller’s objections
The brochure says the college “supports the principle of a residential allocation”. But it adds that “the detailed wording of the draft policy has not been agreed”.
It says the college will send representations to the consultation arguing that:
- the site “is capable of accommodating a greater number of dwellings than currently envisaged”
- keeping the existing sports facilities “is neither necessary nor justified”
- a cricket pitch on the site “is not feasible”
Why it matters beyond Meads
The cricket pitch at St Andrew’s is doing a second job in the plan.
Eastbourne College also owns New Field on Carlisle Road, a one-hectare school playing field allocated for 40 homes under Policy SA21. The plan says both sites have cricket that would be lost. Its answer is the community pitch at St Andrew’s, which it calls compensation for the loss of New Field.
Elsewhere the plan says the town’s extra need for community cricket and hockey is being met through two sites: Summerdown Field (SA17) and St Andrew’s (SA29). If the cricket pitch goes from SA29, that part of the plan needs another answer.
Where the school is going
St Andrew’s Prep and Eastbourne College have been one charity, Eastbourne College Incorporated, since 2010. The prep school announced on 5 May that it would move into a new building on the college campus, a project called ECi310.
The project’s own website says:
- the board approved the move late in 2025
- architects Burrell Foley Fischer were appointed on 1 September 2026
- planning applications for the new prep school are to follow this term
- building is due to start in early 2027, subject to planning consent
- the new school is projected to open in early 2029
The school says there will be no disruption at the Meads site while the new building goes up.
What it means for you
If you live in Meads, this is the moment to have a say. Once the Local Plan is adopted, the wording of SA29 is what any planning application on the site will be judged against. That includes the 100-home figure, the cricket pitch and the community sports hall.
The consultation is the last stage before the plan goes to a government inspector. Comments have to address whether the plan is “sound” and legally compliant, and they are published with your name. How to do it, and what the plan says for each neighbourhood, is in our guide to the Local Plan consultation.
The brochure is a sales document, not a planning application. Nothing can be built until someone applies and the council decides. New applications appear on our Eastbourne planning page.
Sources
- Vail Williams, St Andrew’s Prep School, Eastbourne, sales brochure, August 2026, for the site area, floor areas, vacant possession date, nursery, the two masterplan options, the 165,000 sq ft figure and the seller’s planning position.
- Eastbourne Local Plan 2025-2042, Proposed Submission (Regulation 19): Policy SA29 and paragraphs 4.3.221 to 4.3.226, Policy SA21 and paragraph 4.3.149 (New Field), and paragraph 6.4.13.
- Eastbourne Local Plan Regulation 19 consultation page for the closing date.
- St Andrew’s Prep, Introducing ECi310, 5 May 2026, for the relocation and the 2010 merger.
- ECi310 project website for the board decision, the architects’ appointment and the timeline.
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