Welcome to Meads Hall

Meads (Eastbourne) Community Centre (MECC) is a charity established with the aspiration of acquiring and operating St John’s Parish Hall for the benefit of the people of Meads, Eastbourne.

The PCC of St John’s announced its wish to dispose of the hall at the end of 2022.  The site was originally gifted by the Duke of Devonshire in the 19^th century for use as a school.  The current hall, built in 1926, was managed by St John’s church and used for educational and community activities.   After nearly a hundred years of community service, the hall was in a poor state of repair.

The Meads Community Association established a steering group focused on ways to save the iconic hall.  They established the CIO, Meads (Eastbourne) Community Centre, (MECC) in late 2023.  The Trustees’ main objectives were to secure the transfer of the hall and find ways to restore it to its former glory for the Meads community to enjoy.

MECC successfully applied for a government Community Ownership Funding (COF) grant of £450,000 subject to being able to raise £100,000 in matched funding.  The hall was transferred to MECC on 27^th September 2024 on a 99-year lease at peppercorn rent.  This allowed building works to commence in October 2024 with a planned re-opening of the hall in mid-February 2025.

The rebranded Meads Hall Eastbourne looks forward to welcoming back the Meads community and its visitors for many years to come!

To view the hall before the restoration works started, click here.