Seaside town to get shopping beacon

An £85M steel-framed extension to Eastbourne’s existing Arndale shopping mall, currently under construction, will provide 22 new retail units, seven restaurants and an eight-screen cinema.

Once complete, the new enlarged centre will be renamed The Beacon, a name that is said to conjure up images of the town’s coastal history and the nearby Beachy Head Lighthouse.

Andrew Rice, Fund Manager for the centre owners Legal & General said it is never easy to find a new name for a shopping centre with a 38-year history.

“After discussions and explorations, including meetings with key opinion formers in Eastbourne, we agreed unanimously that The Beacon was a great new name.”

Working on behalf of main contractor Kier, Caunton Engineering is fabricating, supplying and erecting 2,000t of steelwork for the scheme.

The 16,200m² extension is partially divided in two by a covered L-shaped pedestrianised street. Officially described as an outdoor space, the street will however offer some weather protection as it will be topped with a glazed undulating roof supported by the main steel frame.

Cutting across the site, approximately at the point where the L-shaped street cranks, a movement joint splits the steel frame into two separate parts via a row of double columns.

Also, included in the steel package, Caunton is erecting two new steel floors to the mall’s existing six-storey concrete-framed car park.