Eastbourne Access Group

The Eastbourne Access Group is a voluntary society that was formally created in 1981, the Year of Disabled People. The group was formed to oversee the making of the Eastbourne section of a county-wide Access Guide.

Eastbourne, in 1981 was a Victorian town which at that time had stepped entrances to all its important buildings. Under the vigorous leadership of Wing Commander Bunny Shaw, the town was gradually transformed into a much more mobility-friendly place.  Today, despite progress, certain barriers to access in the town are difficult to resolve but reasonable adjustments can be made.  Access might be physically impossible in some cases and in others financial constraint means that progress is slow - installation of new dropped kerbs for example.

The Access Group consists of a small number of members, each with a different disability or knowledge of it. Together with the Access Officers for Eastbourne and Wealden Councils we can represent the people who are living with the daily problems caused by a wide range of disabilities and focus the Councils' efforts on making things easier. 

We meet on alternate months at the Palm Court Hotel.  Some meetings also take place at Shinewater Court, which is a Residential Care Home in Eastbourne run by the Disabilities Trust.

Eastbourne Borough Council uses the Access Group as an official source of advice about Access matters. On occasion our members are asked to sit on relevant Council working groups and to address meetings.

The Group is a member of RADAR, the Disability Network. It is affiliated to EAVS, the Eastbourne Association of Voluntary Services (the local CVS.) It is also a sub-group of the Forum for Physical and Sensory Disability.