11/09/2026
Carpet Gardens Survey Results ๐
๐๐๐ซ๐ฉ๐๐ญ ๐๐๐ซ๐๐๐ง๐ฌ ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ฏ๐๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ญ๐ฌ ๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐ง - ๐๐% ๐๐ฎ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ ๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ข๐ง๐๐๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ฅ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ , ๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐๐จ ๐๐ก๐๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ซ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐๐๐ฌ๐ข๐ ๐ง?
Eastbourne Council has now published the results of its consultation on the Carpet Gardens.
69.6% of respondents said they preferred the new โsustainableโ style of planting, compared with 30.4% who preferred the traditional style.
That looks like a decisive result. But the report gives some interesting insights into what people have actually said.
Throughout the consultation, the council claimed that returning to the traditional Carpet Gardens would cost over ยฃ1 million. It is hardly surprising that many people in response cited that figure.
Yet only last year, the council was telling us that the changes to the Carpet Gardens would not save any money at all. To be frank, if people believed that returning to the old design would cost taxpayers ยฃ1 million, they would have to be mad not to support the change.
I have consistently said that this was extreme spin, used to justify a controversial decision.
And if you ask people whether they support sustainable planting, who is going to say no? It would be like asking whether people care about the environment.
Many respondents appear to have been saying something more nuanced: they support sustainable planting, but do not think the current gravelled design is attractive.
As residents have said to me all along, making Eastbourne more sustainable matters. But so does the appearance of our seafront and its landmarks.
Last year, I asked what assessment had been carried out to show that the new design was actually more sustainable. I was told that no such assessment had been undertaken.
We do not know whether it uses less water, whether it is better for pollinators or what difference it makes to carbon emissions.
So what do you make of the result?
Do you trust the consultation, and do you think the council has been straight with the public?
