Resort background

Bexhill-on-Sea enjoys a unique identity among England’s seaside resorts, thanks to exotic Edwardian architecture and one of Britain’s modernist icons.

However, it’s not all rosy for the town, with a demographic skewed to an older population and pockets of deprivation that are among the most severe in the South East.

Lower incomes, limited investment and business opportunities, not to mention vast out-of-town shopping developments, mean that town centre streets are lined with empty units and discount brands.

During the late 20th century, a paucity of investment and changing tourism trends led to under-use of Bexhill’s resort attractions, with historic seaside buildings falling into disrepair. As a result, Bexhill and neighbouring Hastings were identified by the South East England Economic Development Agency as a focus for regeneration and investment.

Edwardian set-piece

Designated a conservation area, the town centre is an unusual example of a set-piece “planned” Edwardian seaside resort, built within just 10 years. Its streets are arranged on a grid - many shop-fronts have recently been restored and refurbished to help improve the townscape - while further architectural kudos is provided by mogul-inspired seafront buildings and ornate Edwardian promenade shelters. However, the jewel in the crown is the Modernist De La Warr Pavilion.

De La Warr Pavilion: role of an ‘iconic’ building

The Modernist Pavilion, designed by Erich Mendelsohn, was opened in 1935. In 2005, the crumbling Grade 1 listed Pavilion was refurbished and relaunched as a venue for contemporary culture, featuring gallery space, auditorium, restaurant and shop. The refurbished Pavilion has already had a positive impact on the town, attracting upwards of half-a-million people a year. It also delivers an estimated regional economic impact of £16m annually. “Younger incomes are moving into the town, and attitudes are very slowly changing,” De La Warr Pavilion Director Alan Haydon claims.

Its programme is highly contemporary, yet often drawing inspiration from the Pavilion’s Modernist roots and seaside location. Says Haydon: “You have to stop doing things that pander to nostalgia.”

The Pavilion is located on the seafront, separated from the town centre by a car park and busy road. Between the Pavilion and the beach is a mix of sun terraces, lawn and the Colonnade, a grand structure built in 1911 to commemorate the coronation of King George V.

Spaces around the Pavilion

The Pavilion’s refurbishment only tackled the building itself, yet there has been a long-standing recognition of a need to improve its immediate surroundings. Space around the Pavilion does not clearly relate to the building’s forceful architecture. District Council Conservation and Design Officer Diane Russell comments that the building is left to “float somewhat unanchored in its landscape”.

Aesthetic considerations apart, a profusion of paths, walls and street furniture prevents direct approach to the building from town centre or promenade. Routes are indirect and unclear, and don’t match the desire lines of where people want to move. “There’s no logic to the way that paths are worked out in relation to the building,” observes Haydon.

Ultimately, it means that people aren’t encouraged to move between promenade, Pavilion and town centre.

For example, low walls and a busy traffic roundabout block access from the Pavilion to the Sackville Road shopping street. As a result, the benefits of one aren’t being shared by the other as much as one might expect. “Our concern is that people are using the Pavilion as quite an isolated experience,” explains Russell. “When it comes to economic impact, there’s high spend in the Pavilion but low spend in the rest of town. People simply aren’t crossing the road.”

Meanwhile, many seafront structures remain neglected, The Promenade itself is cluttered with low walls and street furniture, lacking a homogeneous character, and utilitarian late 20th century seafront shelters regarded as being of poor design quality, failing to meet the town’s aspirations.