Latest News

For info on Site 1 plans click here.. 

For info on Site 7a plans click here.. 

For info on Martello Tower plans click here.. 

06 December - Santa Stroll Postponed - Due to the heavy rain and gusty winds forecast for Sunday, the planned Santa Stroll has been postponed until next Sunday, 14 December.  Apologies for the disappointment, and fingers crossed for better weather next Sunday.

04 December - Beach Work Update - With the erosion we experienced today (Thursday) along the beach, the expected force 7 wind Friday night / Saturday morning and the spring tides peaking tomorrow lunchtime at 3.7m, we will need to work outside daylight hours to be able to work on low tides. There may also be some strong winds coming Tuesday night, 9th Dec.

We will be mobilising three bulldozers early tomorrow morning, approx. 02.00. Recycle teams will then follow at 06.00 Saturday morning, we will mobilise 04.00.

For Sunday we’ll review progress and weather and mobilise 04.30 if needed. We apologise for the disruption, but we want to do our very best to keep your homes safe.
Paul Levitt
Beach Manager,
Operations East Solent & South Downs Environment Agency.

30 November -  SHRA Newsletter Published - The December issue of Waterlines our bi-monthly PDF newsletter has been published online. Find it on the Waterlines page... 

29 November - Beach Work Update - A quick note to reassure you we are keeping a close eye on the weather ahead of the spring tides next week. The forecast currently looks like we may have force 7 Southerly winds on Monday, swinging round to South westerly on Tuesday, with up to 3m waves. The wind then drops off as the tides peak through Thursday and Friday. This forecast could of course change. 

We expect erosion along the frontage and will have machines ready to push shingle up and recycle. With high tides in the morning, we will not be able to access the toe of the beach in daylight hours so have been stockpiling shingle on the crest of the beach in multiple places in preparation for next week.
Paul Levitt
Beach Manager, Operations East Solent & South Downs Environment Agency   

20 November - Christmas Events at The Waterfront - Premier Marinas has asked SHRA to let our members know about their Christmas events at The Waterfront, including two laser shows, carols with the RNLI crew, an Eastbourne Rock Choir performance and an artisan market. Click here to read Premier's letter to harbour residents...

19 November - WI Newsletter Published - The Harbour WI has published its latest newsletter, which contains a report and photographs of their November meeting. Find it on the WI website here...

17 November - Remembrance Event Photos - A gallery of photos of the Remembrance Event and Memory Tree Dedication at the Community Centre on 11 November has been added to our Gallery page...

16 October - New SHRA Members Discount - Beamers Fresh Fish, at the Quay Fisheries shop, The Fishing Quay, Sovereign Harbour, BN23 5UY, will offer 10% off the total price.  All fish is sustainably sourced. Fresh fish caught from our own boat, Shannon LI 547, and from our supplier, MCB Seafood.
Open every: TUES - WED - THURS - FRI  9am - 3pm.
SAT  9am - 1.30pm. 
Check out their Facebook page for the latest catch news... https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063627992105

13 October - Neighbourhood Board Citizen Questionnaire 2025 - Eastbourne has been awarded £20 million in funding from central government as part of the long-term Pride in Place Programme (PPP) (previously named Plan for Neighbourhoods (PfN)). The money is to be spent over the next 10 years on projects across the borough.

To manage this fund, the independent 'We are Eastbourne' Neighbourhood Board has been established. To ensure every Eastbourne resident has an opportunity to have their say, the Board want to hear about what matters most to you. 

Please complete their questionnaire to tell the Board what improvements you’d like to see across our town. There are 15 questions. The survey is anonymous; the record of your survey responses does not contain any identifying information about you unless a specific survey question explicitly asks for it. The online questionnaire is on the 'We are Eastbourne' website at:  https://weareeastbourne.org.uk/  (use the pop-up notice or scroll down the webpage for a link).

06 October - Support Sovereign Divers – Help More Women Dive! Sovereign Divers, based here at Sovereign Harbour Yacht Club, have launched a Crowdfunder campaign to break down one of the biggest barriers in our sport – the cost of equipment.
Scuba kit is expensive, and much of it is designed for men’s body shapes. This makes it harder for women (and many new starters) to find safe, comfortable gear without spending thousands of pounds upfront.
Our project aims to change that by purchasing better-fitting club equipment and creating a gear-loan scheme – giving women divers in particular the chance to train and progress without the financial strain.
Sport England has pledged £2,460 in match funding, but only if we raise the same amount ourselves by 2nd November 2025. That means every pound you donate will have double the impact. 👉 Please support the campaign here: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/sovereign-divers.
Together, we can open up the underwater world to more women and make diving at Sovereign Harbour truly inclusive.
Rachel Piper | Media Officer
Email: media@sovereigndivers.co.uk
Website: https://sovereigndivers.co.uk/

05 October - 2025 Santa Stroll - The annual Santa Stroll organised by Defiant Sports and SHRA is a chance to join a fun walk/wheel around Eastbourne's Sovereign Harbour dressed in Santa outfits to spread festive cheer and enjoy some wholesome time with the local community. [Click poster image for a full-size version to print and display]

The stroll takes place on Sunday, 7th of December, from 11am to 12pm, with a warm-up at 10:30am led by Defiant Sports. The event costs £10 per adult and £5 per child. Find out more and book your place through the following link: https://eequ.org/book/santa-stroll-with-defiant-sports-11052.   Included in the booking price is a Santa Claus outfit, which we hope you'd wear to help bolster the size of our merry crowd of red-hatted friends.

The route will take us across the Northern and Southern Sovereign Harbour as well as the seafront, and is wheelchair accessible.  Click here to view a map of the route...  Money raised will go to Defiant Sports. Some of last year's participants shown below.

07 September - EBC Serve EPA Notice to Southern Water Over Water Treatment Works Odour  - A spokeswoman for Eastbourne Borough Council said: "The council served a formal notice on Southern Water on Wednesday, August 27, under the Environmental Protection Act 1990.  This notice is a legal instrument that requires Southern Water to immediately abate the odour and to take all necessary measures to prevent any future recurrence. It is totally unacceptable for Southern Water to allow this situation to continue.  Unless Southern Water quickly resolves this issue, we will consider further legal action."

We thank our MP and our local councillors for their recent efforts in continuing to highlight this issue that has blighted the local area for years. We await to see what effect the EPA notice may have.

06 September - SHRA Letter to the Wellcome Trust about the Marina Charge - After getting nowhere asking the Sovereign Harbour (Sea Defences) CIC and Premier Marinas for greater transparency within the financial information used to calculate the Marina Charge element of the annual rentcharge, we have written to Premier's owner, the Wellcome Trust, asking them to ensure that more information is provided in future. A copy of our letter can be read by clicking here...  Almost half of the rentcharge is paid to Premier Marinas.

Over time, some news items may migrate to the News Archive page or another relevant page of the SHRA website.