September 7th, 2011.
The sunniest place on mainland Britain has been named this week as having the sunniest street in the country with Burton Road in Eastbourne seeing an average 1,934.5 hours of sunshine in 12 months, an impressive 42.8% more than the 1,345.9 hour average!
The news was announced this week in The Telegraph after energy firm HomeSun carried out research to find out which areas had the most suitable homes for solar power.
With GMTV naming Eastbourne as the sunniest place on mainland Britain on national TV last summer, the latest news comes as a further boost to Eastbourne’s top sunshine status.
Eastbourne Borough Council Cabinet Member for Tourism and Leisure Cllr Neil Stanley said “What fantastic news to hear more evidence of our brilliant sunshine status! We have already been told we’re officially the sunniest place in the country but to hear we also have the sunniest street in Britain with sunshine hours way above the average is great news and yet another reason to visit our beautiful town. Summer might be over in the rest of the country but in Eastbourne, I’m sure we still have plenty of sunshine hours to look forward to over the coming months!”
BBC weather forecaster Michael Fish, who lives in the town, told the Daily Telegraph that the shelter of Beachy Head gives Eastbourne a unique microclimate meaning year round sunshine.
Located at the foot of Beachy Head and the gateway to the new South Downs National Park, Eastbourne offers visitors the best of the coast and countryside with acres of rolling downland and miles of award-winning beaches.
Eastbourne’s latest sunshine accolade comes just a couple of weeks after the town was named as the UK’s fastest growing seaside resort with an 11% increase in tourism-related business and polled at sixth place in a list of the most popular seaside resorts.
Looking ahead to a busy autumn season with a packed programme of events, including the Beachy Head Marathon and Eastbourne Beer Festival, new exhibitions at Towner, and top shows at Eastbourne Theatres, Eastbourne hopes to welcome thousands of visitors over the next few months.
For more information on Eastbourne go to the website or call 0871 663 0031.
